Eternal Love
by cyberdemon
Summary: Prequel to Unforgettable. after an accident that changed her life, Fiona is forced to move to a another town to start a new life. There she meets Van and they form an bond that could possibly lead to something much more. VF. Future limes.
1. death

A long line walked in a graveyard. So many of them were weeping for the loss of someone that was very close to them. None so much as a young lady who was following the coffin. Her head cast towards the ground barely looking at where she was going.

She was young, probably only fourteen. She had long blonde hair and sad crimson eyes as she followed the casket that carried her father. She appeared to be walking without emotion but she was merely holding in the pain that was boiling in her just waiting to be released.

To her, her father as the only family she ever had since she barely knew her mother. He'd raised her all her life. He always put her above all else. She just had to lose it all because of some drunk driver a few nights before.

All were gathered around the area where her beloved father's final resting place would be. The young lady was finding it harder and harder to keep in the tears that were trying with all their might to surface.

A hand was placed upon her shoulder and turned around to see an older lady who had been the next-door neighbor for several years. "It will be alright Fiona. Don't cry, he wouldn't have wanted you to," she said with a reassuring smile to the beautiful young lady before her.

The woman named Fiona just nodded her head and watched as the casket was lowered deep into the ground. Even with the assuring words that the woman tried to give her, Fiona found the tears finally falling down her face. It just couldn't be held back as she knelt on the ground near the hole.

The lady from before came over and tried to help Fiona up but she just shrugged it off and stayed there even after the grave was filled back up. It was just so hard to be on her own without her father's reassuring words to her.

"Please daddy, I can't do this without you," she cried at his grave nearly a week after his funeral. "I need you here with me. Please come back," Fiona whispered even though she knew that it wasn't possible for that to happen.

Since the funeral, she had come here everyday and did the same thing. Poured her heart out to something she knew was no longer there. she would give up anything to have him back but it was impossible.

Probably the only comfort she had in these in her was that the one responsible for her father's death was arrested and was facing charges. She was not normally a bitter person but she hoped that the person would be put away for a long time. No the pain her had inflicted upon her by taking away her only family.

She slowly got up and walked towards a car that was waiting for her. Her neighbor had been taking care of her ever since her father died. The woman treated her very kindly and she was glad to have someplace to stay until she could find a permanent home to stay in.

The woman looked at Fiona sadly. She thought of her like a daughter but she knew Fiona couldn't stay with her forever. She was old as it was and probably wouldn't be around much longer. She didn't want Fiona to get her hopes up for a loving home only to have it taken away once again.

The woman that she had always seen as lively and vibrant was nothing like she was before. She was rather pale and hadn't been eating much the past few days. No matter how hard she tried, she just could not get the young woman to eat more than a few bites before she just stopped and left.

"Fiona when are you going to stop doing this to yourself? I am sure that your father wouldn't have wanted to see his only daughter getting sick because she wasn't taking good care of herself," she said but just sighed when Fiona didn't answer her question.

Deciding that changing the subject would be better, she did just that. "The trial is starting in a week Fiona," she said and actually saw the slightest amount of emotion flash through the woman's eyes. It was one of hate and anger and the old woman couldn't blame her for that either.

"I…" Fiona said before she paused as if rethinking but said it anyways. "I hope he goes to jail for a long time," Fiona said as her hands clenched into fists at her side. "so he won't hurt anyone else like he hurt me," she said as her shoulders started to shake with more suppressed tears.

The old woman just looked at Fiona with sympathy in her eyes. She agreed with Fiona but it was so strange to hear such spiteful words come out of the younger woman's mouth. She was always very kind and well behaved. Never saying anything that would hurt someone else.

"W-what's going to happen to me?" Fiona asked as her shoulder shook more. "I know I can't stay with you. So where will I stay since I don't have the money to stay on my own," she said looking at the woman with bloodshot eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe you will be sent to your mother. She's alive even though you never really have met her before," the woman said and she just saw Fiona nod her head slightly. "When I die, please don't be like this. I don't want to see you up there until you are an old woman just like me with many kids of your own," she said trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Fiona just looked out the window. Love was not something she was looking for. She thought she probably would never fall in love with anybody but she had no idea what the future had in store. She sure as hell didn't see this coming after all.

"Whatever happens Fiona, just know that even when I die, that your father and I will always be looking down watching you as you grow older. He will always be proud of you as long as you stop doing what you are doing to yourself," she said looking sadly at the woman she considered like a grandchild to her.

Fiona didn't respond but just placed her head on the side of the car and closed her eyes for some sleep. She hadn't been sleeping very well either and she felt very welcomed into the sweet oblivion of sleep.

* * *

As the weeks continued to pass after that, things seemed to go up for Fiona even though she was still sulking around. As a result of the case of the man that killed her father. She earned a substantial amount of money, go to jail for a few years, he had to go through reform programs, and a lot of community service before he was free.

Some people would call that a victory but it was anything but that to Fiona. Even despite the results, Fiona felt that it was pointless. No amount of payment could ever bring back what she had lost.

Fiona looked around her childhood room remembering all the fond times that she had in it. She was placing some clothes into a suitcase preparing to leave the only place she had ever called home.

Barely after the trial was over, Fiona's mother showed up and said she was going to take Fiona in. Fiona really couldn't complain because the woman was still her mother even though Fiona had never met her before. She didn't even come to talk to Fiona about it. Fiona was just told about it from some social workers.

Fiona wondered if she just did what she did because of the money she heard that Fiona gained in the trial. It wasn't enough to make her rich but it would definitely allow her to live comfortably for a while.

Besides the money she won in the trial. Her father had left her quite a bit of money. However, she wouldn't even be able to touch it until she was married and that was not something she didn't want to do. She wished she didn't even have anything if it meant that she could get her father back.

Just as she finished packing all of her things, she heard the door open and turned around to see the old lady that had taken care of her so well since she was left alone in this world. "I'm ready to go," she said quietly as she grabbed her suitcases.

The elderly lady smiled at Fiona and grabbed one of the lighter bags to help Fiona out. "Even though you are leaving, always know that you have a home with me Fiona. I am sure that everything will work out for you just fine where you are going," she said with a smile as the two of them walked out the door and towards a car that was waiting for Fiona.

"Thank you," Fiona said giving the elderly woman a hug before putting her stuff into the car and the getting into the car herself before it drove away to a life she wasn't sure if she was even going to like. She just wished that she knew more about her mother but her father never really mentioned anything about her.

She just stared out the window as they drove on and on for at least an hour towards a town a good distance away from her old home. 'Maybe this will be better for me. Maybe I will be able to forget about all that happened there,' she thought but never put on a smile.

They for a little longer before the drove up to a medium sized house but one that looked like it could be comfortable. 'Looks can be deceiving,' she thought as she slowly got out of the car and with some help from the man that drove her here, she got all of her things to the door.

"Thank you," Fiona said to the man who just smiled and got back into the car. The car drove away soon afterwards and Fiona was left alone to meet the woman that was supposed to be her mother for the first time. She hand slowly lifted towards the door and she knocked on it.

It was quiet for a few moments before Fiona heard the sound of footsteps in the house. The door opened to reveal a lady who still looked to be very young, yet the look on her face seemed to contradict her previous thoughts. "Um… hello mother," Fiona said quietly.

Her mother looked her over a bit before just nodding her head and turning around motioning for Fiona to follow her. "It's about time that you arrived. I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to come," she said as she started to walk up the stairs, not even offering to help Fiona with her baggage.

Fiona looked down towards the ground and she followed her just leaving her baggage planning to just come back for it. She was led towards and empty room at the end of a hall and knew that it was hers. 'At least there is some space,' she thought staring at it.

"Let me just set up some ground rules while you are living here. You will follow them without argument," she said and started to tell Fiona all of the rules that she had. When she was finished, she just left leaving Fiona alone in the empty room.

Fiona went back down and started to carry up her things and unpacked enough to last until the rest of her stuff got there. She laid down on the bed which had already been in the room when she got there and closed her eyes since she was tired and knew she would have a long day tomorrow.

* * *

Fiona walked around a mall that she had somehow managed to find the next morning. She was by herself because when she had woken up; her mother was already gone without even leaving a note about where she was going or when she would be back. So Fiona just decided to go get some things for her new room.

Fiona looked towards all the happy people wondering about and felt jealous that they had things to be happy about. She wondered if she would ever be able to feel like that again. 'Somehow I doubt it,' she thought walking into a store.

By the time that she was done she had several different from stores all over the place. She had to have spent a lot of money but she wasn't worried because she knew she had plenty left. After this, she probably wouldn't even need to use most of it ever again. So she didn't have to worry about running out.

The real question she had was how she was going to get it all back to her new home. There was a lot and some of them were just a little too heavy for her to handle herself.

She walked to the food court and was glad that she could just set the stuff down and rest. She leaned back in the seat and stared up towards the glass roof and into the cloudless sky. 'It's beautiful out today,' she thought to herself but there still didn't seem to be much emotion playing on her face.

"What the hell do you think your doing?" a voice yelled making Fiona jump up in her seat as well as just about anyone that was in a one mile radius as they all turned to stare at the source of the noise. She was by some bushes so she just pushed them out of the way and got a view of what was going on.

Fiona turned around and looked at it and saw two guys wrestling or more like one of them wrestling and the other doing everything in their power to stop them. The taller of the two men had a smaller but still tall man in a headlock and didn't look to have any intention of letting him go anytime.

"Damn it Irvine! Let me go!" the smaller of the two of them said struggling to get out of the tight grip around his neck. He was suddenly let go of and fell straight to the floor. He growled and looked up at the man. "What the hell was that for?" he asked glaring at the man who only shrugged it off like he didn't even care.

He heard giggling from all over and turned to see that everyone's attention was on him and Irvine. He blushed in embarrassment and slowly turned around and left the place before he embarrassed himself further. "I swear to god I will get you for that later," he growled at Irvine.

Irvine just smirked at his friend confidently. "Somehow I highly doubt that Van. But if you would like to try then go ahead," he said with a smirk while cracking his knuckles in a threatening gesture.

Van just growled and walked away angrily. 'Oh I swear I will get you for that Irvine,' he thought rubbing his hands together as he started scheming up any ways that he could get his revenge on the other man.

When it was all over Fiona just got up and grabbed her things. Whatever it was that happened was not any of her business. She knew nothing of the two of them and didn't really want to get involved with whatever it was that the two of them were doing to each other.

She couldn't help but take a quick look at the retreating form of the smaller man before looking back ahead of her shaking her head to clear all thoughts. She just continued walking with only the long destination to home in mind.

* * *

"And where did you go exactly young lady?' her mother asked when Fiona walked into the house later that day carrying all of her things. "I step out for a few minutes and I return to find you gone. I don't know what your father use to do but around here you will tell me where you are going!" her mother reprimanded her daughter.

"I'm sorry mother. I just went to a mall to get some of the things I will need if I'm going to live here," Fiona said looking towards the ground as she set her bags to the side. She didn't think she had done anything wrong by doing that.

"You need to tell me where you are going from now on. I don't want what happened to your father to happen to you,' she said before turning around and walking to a different room leaving her daughter by herself.

Fiona silently gathered her new things and headed up to her room. She started to unpack everything that she already had and set up the room leaving some space for the few larger things she was having transferred from her old house.

"This just doesn't feel like home," Fiona muttered to herself as she laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Home was with dad but he's gone now. How am I supposed to consider this new place my home?" she asked herself as she stared around the still rather empty room.

She had this feeling as if she just wouldn't be happy in this new place. She was grateful that her mother gave her a place to stay but she would give up everything that she had for everything to be as it was before her father died. 'If only I could turn back time,' she thought as she leaned on her side.

Fiona looked out the window and was slightly surprised to see that the sun was already starting to set. She had no idea that she had been out that long that day. She couldn't help but laugh. It sounded like something she used to do with her old friends. Most of which she had lost contact with a long time ago.

'I start school tomorrow. But what is the point of going?' she asked herself as she closed her eyes trying to get a bit of extra sleep that night. 'He would have wanted me to go to be the best that I can be," Fiona thought as she drifted off into some much needed sleep.


	2. a new beginning

The screeching of the alarm clock filled the small, rather cramped room of a young man. He was curled up in the blankets trying to ignore the racket hoping it would stop. Unfortunately for him, it just kept going.

A loud cracking sound was heard as a fist was sent flying down on the clock. It beeped dying beeps before it completely shut off and the young man turned over in his bed with a smile on his face as he tried to fall back into the wonderful world of dreams. Too bad it didn't last.

"Get up Van!" a voice yelled on the other side of the door. The voice was followed by several loud thumps on the door. "Get up and get ready because you will be late for school again. You had better not of broken your alarm clock again!" the voice of an older man yelled.

Van moaned as he sat up in his bed. "I'm up, I'm up!" he yelled back although he felt like falling back onto the bed and falling asleep again. He took a look at his alarm clock and cringed at it because it was completely off even though it was plugged in. 'Uh-oh. Better get going before he finds out,' Van thought as he quickly got ready.

Van raced down the stairs of their small house and grabbed a few pieces of toast. He was already running late and knew he needed to get to school quickly or he would be late for school again. The teachers were on his case about it enough. He didn't need them yelling at him more.

"Bye, sorry I can't stay for breakfast," Van said kissing his mom on the cheek before running towards the door. He suddenly smirked and stepped back a few steps. "By the way, I need a new alarm clock. Bye!" he yelled running out the door before they could even respond to him.

"Dan Flyheight just sighed because he expected this to happen. "He has got to stop doing this. I can't afford to keep buying him more and more alarm clocks on my salary," he said with a sigh as he sat down in his seat. He felt hands start to rub his shoulders and he looked up at his wife. "Thanks Hun," he said putting his hands over hers.

Karin smiled down at her husband. "I don't see why he doesn't give you a promotion or a raise. You are the best he has," she said referring to his boss. For some reason, the man had it in for Dan but couldn't fire him unless he had a good cause for doing so.

"He'd rather fire me before he promotes me. Sometimes I just have to wonder if this job is even worth it," he said resting his head in his hand as the other grabbed his cup of coffee. He took a sip out of it with a content sigh.

"You're meant for great things Dan. I suggest that you demand a raise. He hates you but I am sure that he knows of your importance to the company. If not, then there are always better jobs," she said kissing him on the cheek before walking into the kitchen to finish cleaning after breakfast.

* * *

Van ran as quickly as he could down the streets. He had only about ten minutes to get to school. At the rate that he was going, he felt confident that he would be able to get there before the bell rang and even have a little extra time to spare.

He arrived at the school with a good five minutes left to spare. 'It's amazing how fast I can move when I put my mind to it,' he thought with a smirk as he attempted to catch his breath. He was in shape, but it was still quite a bit of a run from his house to the school and he refused to take the bus.

"Van!" a voice yelled behind him and he turned around and saw his two best friends running up to him. It was his friends Irvine and Moonbay. They could always be found with each other but always claimed that nothing was going on between them.

"Oh hey!" he said opening up his locker and grabbing a few books out of it. The damn things were heavy but he had no choice. "So what's the news? Is everything the same in this boring school?" Van asked as a book dropped to the ground.

"You know; same old, same old. Although I did hear a rumor going around that there's a new student today. I heard she was quite the looker," he said leaning against the lockers and stared at the students as they passed the two of them.

"Interesting," Van said kneeling down to pick up his book. His eyes strayed up and landed on the gorgeous backside of a fellow female student. He just smirked as he stood up and slammed his locker closed.

"Yeah well I heard it was some gorgeous guy. Or that is what the rest of the girls in the school are saying. To tell the truth, no one has seen who it is yet so we don't know any facts. She apparently just got here a day or two ago," Moonbay said with a shrug as the three friends walked towards their homeroom.

The three of them walked into their homeroom and took some seats near the back. Irvine and Moonbay sat all the way in the back and Van sat a seat in front of Irvine since they had assigned seats. Van found it childish because they were in eighth grade and yet still had assigned seats.

"Hey do either of you have the notes from math on Friday?" Irvine asked suddenly and Moonbay just rolled her eyes before she handed her notebook over to her friend. "Thanks," he said opening it and started scribbling down his own notes.

Van just rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He was intrigued by this new student. He hoped it was a girl. Just from the walk to homeroom, you could tell that the news was spreading around quickly.

The guys were saying things like how she was a millionaire and were already scheming ways that they would be doing her. Van found that even more childish than the seating order. He wasn't saying that he never thought of that but he knew they were only lying about some of their exploits, most were probably still virgins. 'We're only in eighth grade anyways,' he thought finding the ceiling very interesting.

Van looked at the clock and saw that there was only a minute before the bell rang. 'God, I'm bored already and the school day hasn't even started. The rumors sound interesting but that's about it,' he thought as the bell finally rang.

Van jumped suddenly when the door to the room opened and the teacher came walking into the room. She was a middle-aged teacher with already graying hair. Out of all the teachers she was probably the strictest but also the kindest at the same time.

Van then saw another person following behind her and he became instantly mesmerized. 'People said that the new student was beautiful but that doesn't do her fair justice, she's gorgeous,' Van thought noticing that a lot of the other male students were doing the exact same thing.

The blonde haired, crimson eyed lady stood in the front of the room by the teacher's side. The teacher looked over the class and rolled her eyes at all the drooling men. "Class please settle down and close your mouths," she said and smiled when they did so. "We have a new student today. Her name is Fiona so please help her if she needs it,' she said scanning over the room at the same time.

Van saw that everyone was trying to point to an open seat next to them. It never occurred to him at that moment that he had an empty one right next to him. Now Fiona, why don't you take a seat next to Mr. Flyheight," he heard the teacher said and was stunned looking and seeing the open desk.

Van sat straight up in his seat and also noticed all the jealous stares that he suddenly was getting. He just shook them off and stared as the young woman as she walked up the aisle to his right and took the seat that was next to his own. His eyes remained on her the entire time. "Hi, I'm Van," he said holding out a hand towards her.

"I'm Fiona," said Fiona with a small smile on her face. She took his hand and shook it. Van wasn't sure but he thought he saw something under that smile that definitely betrayed the happy look she had on her face.

"Hey there, so you're the new girl," Moonbay said popping her head off to the side of Fiona slightly startling her. "I've been hearing a lot about you all day… well more like the past ten minutes but its nice to meet you, I'm Moonbay," she said taking Fiona's hand and shaking it. "This dork is Irvine," she said pointing to the boy next to her.

"Hey! I resent that. I'm not a dork and a lot of the people around here can back me up on that. Not so sure about Van though," he said smirking and laughed when Van just flipped him off.

Van couldn't help but giggle at these two. "It's… nice to meet all of you. I think saw you at the mall yesterday as well," she said and they shrugged. "Yeah, you had him in a headlock," she said pointing to Irvine and Van.

Van turned and glared at Irvine. "That reminds me! I need to get you back for that!" he yelled but the teacher ordered him to be quiet and he was force to comply with her. He just settled for glaring at Irvine.

Irvine had a look that was just saying, 'I dare you to try.' There was a smirk on his face as he leaned back in his chair with his arms across his chest. He was really confident that Van wouldn't be able to do anything.

"I know, they're interesting people aren't they?" Moonbay asked her and Fiona was only able to nod her head. "Hey, me and these two dorks can show you around if you'd like," she said putting on a charming smile.

Fiona breathed a sigh of relief. Since she had only been here for two days, she didn't know anything about the town or more precisely the school. "Thank you. I don't know anything about this place," Fiona said looking very grateful to the other woman.

"Cool. Let me see your schedule real quick. It will definitely help us," she said and grabbed the schedule when it was handed to her by Fiona. She took one look at it and nearly started to laugh. "Oh this is good. You have all the same classes as Van here. So that shouldn't be much of a problem," she said handing Fiona back her schedule.

"What was that? I heard you say my name," Van said looking towards Moonbay. He couldn't hear what she had said clearly because he was too busy planning out ways to murder Irvine the first chance he got. The guy did embarrass him in front of the entire mall the day before.

"Oh nothing. It looks like you will be escorting Fiona around all day because she is in all of your classes," Moonbay said simply grabbing the schedule back and handing it to Van who seemed to take it a bit excitedly.

Van looked over the schedule and sure enough, all of the classes that Fiona had were the exact same ones that he had. People seemed to be jealous that she sat by him, wait until they heard about this. "That's fine. I'll show her around," he said handing Fiona the schedule.

"Thank you," Fiona said kindly before the bell rang and everyone was in a hurry to get out of the room. Van and the others stood up and Fiona just followed them quietly out the door as they talked animatedly.

* * *

That was the way the day had begun for Fiona. Ever since then she hadn't had a moment's peace. The men wouldn't leave her alone after that. She just wanted to be left alone right then, but when she thought she was able to more would just appear out of nowhere.

By the time that lunch came around, she was more than happy. She hadn't really eaten anything that morning so she was starving by the time that lunch came around. Although school food was almost never good, she felt like she could eat just about anything, even if she had to face the consequences for it later.

Van wasn't with her although he'd been showing her around the entire day with Moonbay and Irvine. To her, they were probably the friendliest, if not also the weirdest people that she's met since she first stepped foot in the school.

Fiona just grabbed her lunch and walked outside. It was a bright and sunny day so she thought it would be nice to just sit out in the beautiful weather. She took a seat underneath a tree and leaned back taking a bite of her food as she felt the wind pass across her face. Her eyes closed as she leaned against the tree.

"Are you just going to sit out here all by yourself?" a voice asked and Fiona opened her eyes to see the tanned face of Moonbay. "You should sit with us. I would enjoy the company of another woman," she said smiling at the beautiful blonde haired woman.

Fiona just stared at her for a few moments. "You don't even know me and you're inviting me to sit with you?" Fiona asked a bit confused and just watched as the other woman shook her head. "Why?" was the only question that she could seem to ask.

Moonbay seemed to think about it for a few moments. "Because I want to get to know you. So do Irvine and Van. You won't make any friends anyways if you just sit here by yourself,' she said with a smile.

"Thank you but I kind of like it where I am," Fiona said putting up a smile that could just about fool anyone who saw it. Not even her father could see past it true nature. "Hey!" Fiona yelled when Moonbay suddenly grabbed her tray of food and marched over to a table.

"Don't insult us Fiona. Come on over and talk with us a while," Moonbay yelled back at her taking a seat at the table that Van and Irvine were already sitting down at. Both of them looked a little confused.

Fiona just groaned as she got up because she liked her current position. "Fine," she said walking over to the table and sitting down across Van and next to Moonbay. "Hello again," she said to the two guys on the other side of the table.

"Uh… hey," Van said waving to her slightly. It was slightly weird to have someone else at their table because it was normally just the three of them. It wasn't unpleasant; it was very pleasant to him, but just a little unusual.

Despite the fact that she had basically been mourning the past few weeks since her father's death, Fiona found that she really enjoyed being around the three of them. They could actually make her laugh again. Something that she didn't think she would ever be able to do again.

Irvine suddenly asked her a question that almost everyone at the table was starting to wonder. "So where did you come from Fiona, and why did you move to such a small town as this?" Irvine asked looking at his surroundings.

"I actually lived a few towns over. My… my father died a few weeks ago and I was forced to move in with my mother because the person that was taking care of me was getting too old. She thought it would be best to be around family," Fiona explained trying not to show the pain that she felt talking about her father.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something that is obviously painful for you to talk about," Irvine said silently taking a bite out of a hotdog he grabbed from the school's lunch line.

"Anyways!" Moonbay said suddenly happy by trying to change the subject. She didn't need all this emotional stuff at the moment. "How do you like it here? Is it a big change from where you used to live?" she asked trying not to mention the poor girl's father.

"It's very different. It's a lot quieter around here then it was there. There was always stuff happening. I like the quietness of a place like this but I would rather I came here under different circumstances," she said hanging her head down taking a deep breath so she wouldn't break down again. 'I won't cry for you anymore father. I will be strong for your sake,' she told herself looking up at the others.

Moonbay was trying to think fast. 'This girl's obviously very depressed about it. I need to think of something to cheer her up. Think, think, think,' she kept repeating in her head. "Got it!" Moonbay said snapping her fingers making the other three occupants stare at her.

Irvine raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "What do you got Moonbay? A cold, a fever, diarrhea?" Irvine asked only to get hit over the head for the last question. He couldn't help but laugh at it though.

Moonbay just rolled her eyes at the man sitting across from her. She then turned to Fiona. "Hey Fiona, why don't you come shopping with me later today? Maybe get your mind off of all that you've gone through," she said with a bright smile. She wasn't one for shopping but she could tell that Fiona liked to.

Fiona blinked a few times trying to digest the question asked of her. She sudden smiled without any real sadness beneath them. "That sounds like a lot of fun. When do you want to go?" she asked liking the prospect of going shopping.

Moonbay thought it over. "We'll go right after school if that's ok with you," she said before she turned to Irvine and Van. "You two are coming too," she said with a smirk knowing they would fight back on that one.

"What? Why us? Neither of us like to go clothes shopping!" Van yelled shaking his head refusing to go with Moonbay. She didn't shop much but when she did, she had a tendency to get a lot of expensive things and make him and Irvine pay for them. He was not going to go along with this.

Moonbay saw that Irvine wanted to say the same thing and just smirked. "Well how else are two innocent young ladies supposed to carry a lot of bags without big tough men to help us out?" she asked knowing the best way to get what she wanted was to flatter the two of them.

Van and Irvine tried to argue but Moonbay wouldn't even give them the chance. 'They are coming whether they like it or not,' she thought before turning to Fiona. "Sp, how does that sound?" she asked grinning broadly.

Fiona couldn't help but wonder if this was how it always was within this small group of friends. She found it rather amusing and also that it made it very easy to get along with them. 'Barely here for two days and I already have several new friends,' she thought with a smile.

"Oh please say no. we'll never get any rest if you decide to," Van pretty much started to beg Fiona. Moonbay wasn't letting them out of it and would probably drag them all the way to wherever they were going if it meant that she could have what she wanted.

Fiona turned to Van with an innocent smile. "Where's the fun in that though?" she asked innocently making the two men groan and pretty much slam their heads on the table hoping for some sort of concussion to get them out of what they were about to go through.

With that, Moonbay burst out laughing attracting the attention of everyone in the surrounding area but that didn't stop her. "You know Fiona, I can see that we are going to have a nice friendship," she said wrapping her arm around Fiona's shoulder still chuckling.

"I guess so. After school just let me head home and tell my mother where I'm going. She got mad that I didn't tell her yesterday so I should probably tell her," Fiona said finishing up her food.

"Not a problem. I'll come with you. I want to see where you live," she said before thinking something. "It'd be wise not to tell anyone but us. There are a lot of perverts in this school," she whispered into Fiona's ear and the young woman just shook her head because she had seen the looks going around all day.

* * *

Dan Flyheight was glad that he was able to get off a little early that day because it had been far too stressful to him. "Honey, I'm home," he yelled and his wife cam into the room from the living room where she had probably been cleaning a few moments prior to then.

She walked over and gave him a hug and a kiss before stepping back with a smile. "Oh hello dear. How did things go with your boss? You did request the raise didn't you?" she asked looking at him expectantly.

"Yeah, I did," he said taking a seat on a chair in the kitchen. He saw his wife giving a look that told him to go on. "He wouldn't give one to me. He said I didn't deserve one. I work harder than anyone else there though," Dan said rubbing his forehead where a migraine was forming.

"It's ok dear. It could have been worse. He could have fired you for asking but at least you still have your job. I'm sure that things will get better eventually. We all just need to have a little patience until then," she said wrapping her arms around him from his back.

"Yeah, I guess you're right sweetie. I just wish I could give this family more than I'm able to right now. But with my pay I can't do anything. We'll be stuck with this lifestyle forever. Hope you can put up with that," he said turning to her with a half-hearted smile on his face.

"As long as I have you, Van, and Maria than I can be happy living in a garbage dump. I suggest trying it again though. Just try to be a little more aggressive next time. Maybe if he sees that, than he'll be able to give you the raise," she said pecking him on the cheek.

"I guess you're right but I won't do it right now. This job is our family's only source of income. I don't want to put us in the sort of position where all of us are without a job," he said staring at the table while his wife rubbing the tense muscles in his back. "I promise you though, someday I will make you even happier than you are now," he said turning towards her.

"Without grandchildren, I don't think that's possible. Although Maria does seem to have a nice little relationship going on now that she's in college. Can't expect much from Van yet because he's still too young and doesn't even seem to want to find a nice woman his age," she said with a sad sigh.

Dan chuckled. That was the way his wife was. She had been planning how to spoil her grandchildren when Maria was first born. He had high hopes for his two children but obviously, his wife had even higher hopes. "Whatever you say sweetheart," he said before standing suddenly needing a nice long shower.


	3. problems

"You know, I just can't see why you continuously try and make a fool out of yourself," Irvine snickered as Van was trying to get the courage to ask this girl out. "She said no all fifty times you asked her, why would this be any different?" Irvine said trying to hold back his laughter.

Van turned and glared at Irvine. "I just have a good feeling about this time!" Van said but then spotted Moonbay and Fiona approaching the two of them after coming out of the library with a book in each of their arms.

Moonbay took one look at Van and then turned to Irvine and raised an eyebrow. "He's at it again?" she asked simply and she saw Irvine nod his head while his body shook with his suppressed laughter.

Fiona looked a little confused at her new friends. She'd only been there a month and yet there was so much about her new friends that she didn't know about. "At what again?" she asked a little confused at her new friends behavior.

Moonbay turned towards Fiona and whispered in her ear. "Van has been trying to ask this girl out all year but she just keeps rejecting him. Let's just say he's a little stubborn," she said with a slight giggle and turned to look at Van again.

Fiona turned and watched as Van walked over to a girl and started to talk to her. Fiona was not impressed with the girl's attitude. Van appeared to be very polite to her and yet she just shoved past him as he hung his head in defeat. She felt kind of sorry for him.

Irvine walked up to his defeated friend. "I hate to say it but I told you so but I told you so. The girl's a bitch so just forget about her," Irvine said walking past Van and into his class, one that he didn't have with either of his friends.

Moonbay juts went into a separate direction without saying a word but she looked like she wanted to laugh the whole time. Fiona just couldn't figure out why she would want to laugh at her friend's defeat. "Are you ok Van?" she asked placing a hand on his shoulder.

Van head suddenly shot up and Fiona jumped back slightly seeing the bright smile on his face. "I'm fine! Don't worry about me. I just thought I'd give it a try. I just wanted to try," he said with a smile as the two walked towards their class.

"Wow this coming from the guy who just got shot down hard by a girl," Fiona said with a laugh as Van glared at her. "Don't worry about it. I didn't see anything wrong in the way that you did it. She's just a snob who probably only goes after rich guys," she said as they walked into the classroom and took their seats.

"You got that right," Van muttered under his breath. He didn't even know why he kept trying to ask her out. 'Call it curiosity,' he told himself as he laid his head down and let off a loud yawn. It was only a study hall so he figured that he could catch up on his sleeping.

Fiona couldn't see what the girl's problem was. Van seemed like a nice guy. He was popular with the students. 'So he doesn't have a lot of money. Does it really matter all that much?' she asked herself as she opened her book and started to read it.

About half way through the bell, Van lifted his head off the desk and groaned because he just couldn't get any sleep. "It's so boring today, not to mention cold," he muttered rubbing his arms. "I swear, you know a school's cheap when they can't even afford air conditioning," Van muttered rubbing his hands a bit.

"Should've worn something warmer," Fiona said as she noticed what he was wearing right then. It was just a simple blue t-shit and a pair of baggy shorts but ones that weren't baggy enough to continue sliding off like Fiona saw a lot of people wearing.

"I didn't know it was going to be this cold. It was a lot warmer than this yesterday," Van muttered as he watched the teacher with a bored expression on his face. 'God I hate this subject. What use do we have for Pythagorean Theorem or stuff like that in the future? Besides that, I could run circles around everyone with this stuff,' Van thought lying his head down on in desk. Even without paying attention, he could easily pass this course.

Van had to admit that he was impressed with Fiona's skills with everything. He liked to think he was smart but she seemed to pass that as well. 'Nice to know that not everyone in this school is stupid,' he thought watching as she easily answered a question that baffled the rest of the class.

"Nice job. You make everyone else look stupid," Van said in a teasing tone. He just saw her smile. "Who taught you all this? I don't think they teach this stuff any sooner than this year," Van said trying to remember everything her learned as well before that year.

Fiona's eyes saddened a bit as she stared at her hands resting atop her desk. "My… dad taught me. He always wanted me to be prepared for anything so he taught me a lot of things earlier than when anyone else learned them. Guess it's helping," she said with a sad laugh.

Van couldn't help but notice the sadness. She never talked about her father much. But whenever she did, there was always sadness laced into her voice. "What happened to him?" Van asked softly. He knew that he was killed but he didn't know much else besides that.

Fiona turned and looked at Van. The teacher had just given them a few minutes off since the bell was about to ring so she didn't feel bad about talking during class. "He was killed in a car crash. The driver of the other car was drunk and hit my father while he was picking me up from school," Fiona said not feeling too comfortable talking about the subject.

"Sorry I asked," Van said seeing the pain that was in her eyes. "I know what it's like though. Maybe I didn't lose someone as close to me as a parents but I have lost important people to me as well. But then again, who hasn't?" Van said looking towards the window as it rained out.

Fiona looked out as the rain poured down. She was just glad that there was no thunder and lightning. She always had a bit of fear of it. It wasn't something that she wanted anyone to know about either.

"I hope this clears up soon," Van muttered looking at the clock. They had another bell left before the end of the day. If it didn't clear up by then, then he would end up walking home in the rain. His family had no other way of getting him to school and back unless he walked to school.

* * *

Van ran into his house later that day drenched in water. "Should've brought an umbrella to school," he said think of earlier in the morning when he saw the dark clouds. Unfortunately he didn't think much on it and ran out without grabbing one. 

Van immediately took notice that the house was quieter than it usually was around this time of day. Usually his mom would be running around trying to get any sort of chores done but he didn't see or hear her complaining about anything or doing the work.

"I'm home," Van said but no one came to greet him which was what his mother also usually did when he got home. "I wonder what's up. She can't be out because we don't have any cars to spare," Van muttered to himself as he headed in the direction of his room in the small house they all shared.

"Van," his mother's voice finally said after he made it to the top of the stairs. He turned and saw her standing at the bottom of the stairs with a look on his face that he didn't like. "Your father and I need to talk to you," she said in a soft voice.

Van didn't like where this was going. His mother was a lively person normally and to see her like this sent shivers up his spine. "Um… sure. Just let me go and put everything away," he said rushing to his room.

Van ran into his room and changed into more comfortable clothes than the wet ones he was wearing. He then ran back downstairs and found both his parents in their living room. Both had a bad look on their faces. "What's going on?' Van asked taking a seat across from his parents.

Dan Flyheight looked towards his son carefully. He was tired and what he was about to say wasn't easy either. "Van there is going to be a lot of changes around here from now on," he said after taking a deep breath.

Van looked at his father quizzically. "How so?" he asked listening intently. He didn't see how a few changes could make his parents look the way that they currently were. "What sort of things are we changing?" he asked hoping that the changes wouldn't be too bad.

Karin Flyheight looked at her youngest child and frowned. "Van, your father lost his job today. We aren't sure how we're going to pay for the things we need for a while," she said sadly clutching onto her husbands hand.

Van couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You lost your job?" he asked trying to make sure he didn't hear things. He just saw his parents nod their heads and he felt like a ton of bricks fell on top of him. They weren't doing too good before and now they didn't even have a source of income since his mother didn't work.

Dan looked up at his son. "I know that you don't want to hear these things but we needed to tell you. We don't know what's going to happen from now on but we want you to be prepared for whatever's to come," Dan said before standing up. "Now if you two will excuse me, I need to take a nap," he said before walking towards their room.

Van quickly turned towards his mother and asked the first question that came to his mind. "How did this happen?" Van asked in a slight panic. He was worried for his family's future right now. He didn't want to be one of those people that had to live on the streets.

Karin sighed rubbing her forehead. "I guess in a way it's my fault. I thought it would be a good idea if he went in to ask for a raise since things weren't looking too good around here. Your father the best they have but was still getting paid the minimum he could get. He tried before but he tried again. The two got into an argument and your father quit his job in the process," she said sadly looking in the direction her husband went.

"How're we going to survive? We still need the money food and other stuff like that," Van said starting to not feel too good as well. "How're we going to pay for all that?" he asked staring at his mother intently.

"Your father's going to start looking for another job tomorrow but we don't know when we'll be able to find another place that'll be willing to hire him. So we just wanted you to be prepared for anything that should happen in the process," she said before walking towards her room.

"This is bad," Van said before heading to his room to do his homework. He was still too young to get a good job so he knew that he couldn't help in any way. He would do whatever he could to help them out though.

* * *

"That must really suck," Moonbay said as she sipped on a milkshake. She had just been told what happened to Van's father and it definitely made her feel bad for his family. She didn't even want to see what it would be like for her to have no money. To her, money made the world go round. 

Irvine took a bite of his hamburger and looked towards Van. "How is your family going to get by after this? I don't think you have that much money saved up to last for long," he said taking a bite of his French fries.

Van just sat there watching them as his stomach growled. "Do you two have to eat like that in front of me when you know I have no money?" Van asked and grew annoyed when he saw both of them smirk. "I hate you two," he grumbled hitting his head on the table at the fast food restaurant.

Suddenly a cheeseburger was placed in front of him. He couldn't help staring at it hungrily and then looked towards Fiona as she took a seat next to him. "Food!" he yelled diving at the burger and devouring it almost whole. "Thanks Fiona," he said spitting crumbs all over Irvine.

Fiona couldn't help but chuckle at the annoyed look on Irvine's face. "it's no problem Van. You look like you haven't eaten much in days," she said taking small bites out of some fries.

"I haven't really. My family's hard-up for cash since my dad lost his job. So my parents are cutting back a bit. We don't have much money to spare so we have to save as much food as we can," Van said with a full mouth which grossed out both Irvine and Moonbay.

Fiona looked at Van in pity. "That's horrible," she said with a frown. She didn't have to worry about cash right then because she still had quite a bit left from the trial. "Is there any way I can help?" she asked him but he just shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I can lend your family some," she suggested wanting to help in some way.

Van looked towards her and frowned. "It's a nice offer but neither me or my family would want to take your money. We're all very independent people," Van said finishing off the last of his food.

Fiona knew what he meant but she still smiled at him. "It's no problem for me Van. I have more money than I need right now. It would actually make me feel better to get rid of it," she said since all of it basically just reminded her of the man that killed her father because he thought it would be fun to get drunk.

"Still, I wouldn't feel right taking it. We'll make it by eventually," Van said with a sad shrug of his shoulders. He hoped that he would be able to survive until then. 'My father's good at everything. I'm sure that he'll be able to find a job soon,' Van thought with a small sigh.

Fiona was about to reply to that but Van just made a face that said he wanted to drop the subject. 'I wish Van would accept my help. Why does he have to be stubborn though?' she asked herself staring at Van who just sat quietly staring out the window.

* * *

Fiona walked behind Van as he insisted on walking her home since the sun was almost completely set. Even though it would take him out of his way to get there, he absolutely refused to let her walk alone that night. She was slightly flattered by it. 

The two of them walked past a house and Van stopped and looked at it. "Is something the matter Van?" she asked not knowing that he just stopped to look at his own house.

"Nothing wrong. I just noticed that my parents were home," he said pointing to the house he was staring at. 'I wonder if dad had any luck finding a job today,' he thought with sad smile before he turned and looked at Fiona. "Come on. I need to get you home before it gets too dark to see," he said leading the way.

"Won't your parents be worried about you Van? It is getting kind of late. You should at least tell them what you're doing," Fiona suggested looking towards the sun as it finally set over the horizon bringing darkness to the skies. It would have made her feel better, in case something did happen, to know that someone knew.

Van sighed because he knew that Fiona had a good point. "Fine then," he said leading her towards the house. "There's something I need to do really quickly right now anyways," he said unlocking the door and walking inside with her right behind her.

Fiona walked into the home. She noticed immediately that it was not only kind of small but yet still very comfortable looking. Although she knew that it was something that he mother wouldn't like to be seen in. The woman was too picky about that sort of thing.

Van walked towards another room and Fiona followed not really knowing what else she should do. It always felt strange to her when she visited another person's house for the first time.

"Mom? Dad?" Van called out as he looked around but he didn't see either of them. Then a few moments later, he heard someone coming down the stairs and he turned and saw his mother coming down with a smile on her face, then one of confusion when she saw Fiona.

"Oh hello Van. I was wondering when you were going to be getting home. Who might I ask is this?' she asked looking at Fiona. She got the distinct impression that she's seen someone who looked like the woman before her. She just couldn't place where since she knew it wasn't anyone she knew in person.

"Oh that's Fiona. She's just moved here not too long ago. I was just walking her home but we stopped here so that you wouldn't worry where I was," Van said before heading towards the door. He didn't feel like answering many questions from his mother but he just knew they were coming. Most of them would be about Fiona.

Karin turned to look at Fiona who was looking around curiously. 'Fiona?' she thought knowing that the name sounded familiar. "You're the one that just moved in with Claire haven't you?" she asked growing a bit annoyed at the mention of the woman. Claire Lynette never had tolerance for those with little money.

"Sadly yes, but I don't see eye-to-eye with my mother though. Not after she abandoned my father and I when I was still a baby. She's the only family I have though. That's why I just moved in with her after my father died," Fiona said holding in the tears that threatened to fall at the mention of her father.

Karin looked a little down for a second as she studied Fiona. The girl seemed so nice yet sad at the same time. "Good thing I guess. Never did like Claire much anyways," she said kindly while walking up to Fiona. She shook Fiona's hand with a bright smile on her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you Fiona. I'm Karin."

Fiona giggled slightly liking how lighthearted Van's mother appeared to be. It was pretty clear that Van took after her a lot. She wondered what he got from his father. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Flyheight," Fiona said with a small bow but stopped when Karin laughed slightly.

"There's no need to be formal around here Fiona. No one else is," she said chuckling. "By the please don't call me Mrs. Flyheight. I'd prefer Karin if you don't mind. Being called Mrs. Flyheight just makes me feel a bit old," she said and saw Fiona blush in embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry. You… you're definitely not old. I was actually surprised that you are old enough to be Van's mother. You look so young," Fiona said stuttering over her words. 'Why am I getting to flustered like this?' she asked herself trying to calm herself down.

Karin just laughed at what Fiona was doing. "I've never met anyone like you before Fiona. I must admit that it's nice to see Van hanging around with a nice person like you. Irvine and Moonbay are nice but both have a tendency to be a little rough sometimes," she said laughing again. "Anyways, I'd better not keep you here. Don't want your mother to get angry. It was nice meeting you though," she said before she turned and walked back up the stairs.

Van meanwhile just stood off to the side with his mouth nearly dropped to the ground. He'd never seen his mother take to a girl Van would know as fast as she did with Fiona. She wanted grandchildren but she was also very picky about who she wanted her children with. To be precise, she hated many of the women that Van went out with in the past. 'That's a shocker,' he thought shaking away his awe.

Van then turned to look at Fiona. "Come on. We should really get you home. Like my mother said, we don't want to make your mother angry," he said before leading her towards the door. He was lucky that the place wasn't too far from there. It was pitch black outside.

The two of them walked silently the three or four blocks until Fiona's place. By the time that they got there Claire Lynette was waiting on the front porch for her daughter and she did not look pleased at all to see the two of them coming. "Where the hell have you been young lady? Do you realize what time it is? It's nearly eight thirty!" she yelled walking quickly towards them. "Get in the house!" she said and Fiona obeyed without much trouble.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Lynette. She was with me and some of my friends but we all lost track of time," Van said but then flinched when he saw her turn her furious eyes upon him. It made him nervous about what that meant for him.

"I know who you are! You're the Flyheight's brat!" Claire growled out at the sight of Van. "I want you to stay away from my daughter! She doesn't need bad influences such as you getting in her way!" Claire said giving a glare that promised death should he disobey her.

Van suddenly smirked before turning away. "Sorry old lady. Both Fiona and I are free to do what we feel like. Even if you don't like the thought of us being friends," he said waving lazily behind him as he walked down the streets.

Claire felt like screaming at the thought of the boy. "You're just as insolent and foolish as your father!" she yelled after him but he didn't even turn around to acknowledge her. Claire then turned around and walked into the house.

When she walked into the house, she saw her daughter in the kitchen getting a drink. "You are to stay away from that boy Fiona. If you hang out with him, then you'll only go into ruin like his family," she said sternly that left little room for arguments.

"Sorry mother but I can't do that,' Fiona said not falling victim to her mother's words. "I met his family and they are good people. They may not have a lot of money but at least they can still live happily," Fiona said glaring at her mother for saying something like that. It was times like this that she really wished she still lived with her father or at least her neighbor. 'Then again, I wouldn't have met Van in the others if I didn't,' she thought with a small smile.

"This isn't a joke Fiona. Being happy and living well are two different things. You just watch! Their entire family will be on the streets eventually. Now I will say it again, stay away from that boy and his friends!" she said even more sternly than before. She didn't want Fiona having anything to do with poor people like Van and his family.

"Just because you abandoned father and me doesn't mean I have to live like you mother!" Fiona said growing outraged that her mother could insult good people such as Van and his family.

Claire suddenly slapped Fiona. "You know nothing about your father! He's was just as foolish as the Flyheights. I did better than ever when I left him. I was a fool to get involved with his kind!" she said glaring at Fiona. "I'll say it one last time and you will not argue with me! Stay away from them!" she yelled at Fiona not caring about the tears threatening to fall from Fiona's eyes.

"I'm not you!" Fiona said before rushing away. She ran up the stairs and into her room where she fell onto the bed and cried for her misery at having to live with a woman who had no heart. "I hate this!" she screamed into her pillow. She knew one thing though. Just because her mother said it, doesn't mean that she would stop being friends with Van and the others.


	4. Fiona's bad day

Despite her mother's protests, Fiona continued to be friends with Van and the other. Even as the school year came and passed, she continued to build on a friendship with the trio. It seemed to be what she looked forward to most when she got up each day to go to school was being able to see them.

Her mother wasn't the least bit pleased when she learned of what Fiona was doing despite her protests. She was now starting to blame Fiona's father for making Fiona such a disobedient child and made that very vocal to Fiona.

"Why do you keep disobeying me Fiona? I'm your mother and you have constantly ignored my warning over and over again!" Claire Lynette growled out as she watched her daughter rushing around the house trying to get everything ready for the first day of her sophomore year.

"Because they're my friends mom. You can't just tell me to stop being friends with them," Fiona said sadly as she grabbed her backpack. It was starting to become routine to have this argument with her mother and it was really starting to get to Fiona. She wished it would stop.

Claire growled as she watched her daughter walking towards the door. "Fine! Do what you want, but don't come crawling to me when things go bad!" she basically yelled out before she walked out of the room.

Fiona breathed a sigh of relief at her words. Sure she may not accept her friends but it sounded like she was getting tired of arguing with Fiona. Maybe now Fiona could go out with her friends without getting and earful from her mother.

Fiona didn't know that her mother had other things planned instead of giving up. 'Van will not interfere with her life. She keeps it a secret but I know she harbors a crush for that wretched boy!' she thought angrily as she dug through a drawer before grinning as she found what she was looking for.

* * *

Dan Flyheight took a deep breath as he tied his tie for his first day at his new job. Since he first lost his job, he had several different ones but they always seemed to end a few weeks after with him getting fired for some reason. "I sure hope this job lasts longer than the previous one," he muttered under his breath. 

Karin smiled as she walked up behind her husband and helped him adjust his tie a bit. "Don't worry. They seemed really eager to have you this time. I'm sure that everything will go great. Just be your normal charming self," she said kissing him on the cheek before she headed towards the bedroom to wake her lazy son. She knocked on the door hard a few times before yelling, "Van!" she grinned when she heard someone fall out of the bed on the other side of the door.

She saw him rush out of the room a few seconds later since he was running a really late and he only had a few minutes before Fiona would be there to pick him up like what had become a tradition between the two of them. Karin had to say that she adored the young woman that had become friends with Van.

Van wasn't the only one running behind that day. Karin had woken up late that day which was the reason that she couldn't wake up Van on time. Dan seemed to be the only one that was on time but he was too busy to do anything.

Dan Flyheight sighed as he made a few last minute adjustments. "I'm not worried about what they would do but what he would do. Ever since I left my job, my old boss has ruined every opportunity at a good job. He's the reason that I can't keep a job," Dan said as he picked up his briefcase.

Karin gasped when she heard what her husband said. "He hadn't told her anything about this before then. "Oh Dan, why didn't you tell me?" she asked looking at him sadly as she hugged him from behind. She knew how much he wanted to be able to take care of his family and how much this job hunt was really hurting him.

"I'm sorry dear. I just didn't want to worry you with all that's been happening. Maybe I'll get lucky and he'll leave me alone this time. I really need to keep this job," he said grabbing a quick bite to eat before he kissed his wife goodbye and was out the door before she could respond.

Karin felt sorry for her husband. He worked so hard to just put food on the table and clothes on their backs and yet he couldn't keep a job because of all that his old boss was doing to him. 'Please let this job work this time,' she begged in her head as she saw her son come running down the stairs.

"Hi mom, bye mom," Van said in a hurry as he just grabbed a piece of toast and ran out of the house at full speed. He was lucky because Fiona had just come walking up to the house just as he exited it. "Hey Fiona. We better get going," he said taking a deep breath of relief.

Fiona looked at him curiously and raised an eyebrow. "You woke up late again, didn't you?" she asked with an amused look as she saw him hang his head and just nod as they started to walk towards the school.

"I slept through my alarm clock and my mom woke up late as well," Van sighed as he shifted his backpack on his back. The two started to walk in the direction of the school. "You're later than usual as well I see," he said with a grin since Fiona always made sure she was early or on time.

Fiona gave a nervous chuckle at the mention of this and blushed slightly. "I had a bit of an argument with my mom before I left. I guess I just lost track of time because of it," she said shifting her backpack on her shoulder.

"That would hold anyone back," Van muttered to himself. "So tell me Fiona. Was it just the usual argument or did you finally do something to intentionally piss her off?" Van asked with a grin as his hand came down on her shoulder. He knew Fiona wouldn't do something like that to anyone but he liked to joke around.

"The usual," Fiona said with a sigh as her body appeared to sag a bit for a few seconds. "Why does she want to run my life like this? It's mine to choose yet she thinks she can choose my friends for me," she said with a frown as her hold on her backpack tightened.

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks Fiona, especially one like your mom. It's not just you. She'll tell the sun to stop shining if she gets annoyed enough with it," Van said and the two of them started to chuckle at mere thought of Claire doing something like that.

"Better not hear her say that Van. She finds it offensive if she's called old," Fiona said although there was already a serious issue between Van and Claire this one time that she called her and old woman. She banned him from her property for the fiftieth time in a row and yet he was still coming over but never went inside of the house.

They turned into the school a few minutes later and headed towards their lockers which were very conveniently placed next to each other. They somehow weren't surprised to see Irvine and Moonbay waiting there for them already. The two did just barely make it before the bell.

"There you two are!" Moonbay said walking over to them and wrapped her arms around both of their shoulders. "We were beginning to wonder if you just decided to skip school," she said with a laugh leading the two of them towards the classroom without letting them stop at their lockers.

"I couldn't do that Moonbay!" Fiona said looking slightly appalled at the mere idea of it. "It wouldn't make a very good impression on the teachers if I was to skip," she said as the four of them took their seats in the back of the room. Even Fiona got bored with classes sometimes so they were able to talk quietly back there without being heard by their teachers.

"You know, if you two keep hanging around with each other so much then people will start thinking that you're dating," Irvine said with a grin putting his feet up on his desk and staring up at the ceiling.

Van and Fiona both seemed to turn a light shade of crimson at the mention of this. "No way!" Van pretty much yelled out which caught the attention of the rest of the students in the class while they waited for their teacher to show up. "Fiona and I are just friends!" he said in a hushed yell so as to not attract so much attention to himself again.

"Are you so sure?" Moonbay teased poking at the two of them. She knew Fiona had a bit of a crush on Van but she wasn't sure how large of a crush it was. "The two of you do everything together. Do you bathe together as well?" she continued to tease as Irvine started to laugh really hard.

This time Van and Fiona turned so red that they looked like tomatoes. "Moonbay I swear if you don't shut up then I'm going to strangle you!" Van threatened while Fiona tried to bring her face back to it's normal color.

Van suddenly smirked as an idea hit him. "What about you and Irvine? You two hang out just as much as we do," he said thinking the he'd managed to turn the tables on the two of them. He hated how they teased him and Fiona.

Moonbay just grinned and went over and hugged Irvine. Irvine just looked at her like she was crazy. "Didn't you know? Irvine and I are madly in love," Moonbay said but it was really obvious that she was just fooling around just by the tone of voice she was using.

Van just groaned and rolled his eyes. "You don't take anything seriously, do you Moonbay?" he asked placing his forehead on the desk. He thought he had her there but she still managed to make a fool out of him.

"I think the two of you would make a cute couple though," Fiona spoke up with a bright smile on her face. "You two are so much alike. You should start going out," she said looking at their faces and she could've sworn that she saw red on their faces for a brief second.

"What are you crazy!" Moonbay yelled after shaking her head. "Like I would ever want to go out with Irvine!" she yelled thinking it to be one of the stupidest ideas around. "It's never gonna happen Fiona. He just doesn't meet my standards," Moonbay said giving Fiona a playful glare.

Van grinned seeing how flustered Moonbay was starting to get. "Getting awfully defensive Moonbay. There wouldn't happen to be anything that you're hiding from us would there?" he said with a grin but it stopped when a book came into contact with his face.

"Van!" Fiona said helping him up as he clutched a very sore spot on his head where the book collided with his face. He appeared to be just fine besides that. "You didn't have to throw a book at him Moonbay!" she said but she saw Moonbay grinning once again and knew this had something to do with her and Van. Luckily she was saved from hearing it when the teacher walked into the classroom and started to take attendance.

* * *

Fiona came home with a heavy sigh that day and dropped her bag next to the door and took a seat on the couch. Moonbay was really getting to be too much with her teasing after Fiona ran to help Van after he got hit by the book. She was making it out to be much more than it actually was. 

"Oh good you're home," the voice of her mother said as she came walking out of the kitchen. It seemed to be a little too happy considering the argument that the two of them had just that morning.

Fiona wasn't really sure why her mother was so happy with her right then. She went out for a bite to eat with Van and the others after school and she was happy up till now but something felt wrong and it made her feel like something was going to happen. She just hoped that this wasn't something bad that she was going to regret listening to later. "Is there something you wanted mother?" Fiona asked as politely as she could even though she was still angry with her mother.

"Actually yes. I have some really great news! I planned to tell you earlier but you took your time getting home," she said with as she saw that the clock said that it was nearly six. "I got this interesting call from a very nice sounding gentleman. It surprised me that he asked about you. He asked me if it was ok if he maybe took you out to dinner later today and I said that it was just fine!" she said as her smile broadened despite that look that crossed Fiona's face.

Fiona's eyes widened at the mention of this and she stood up very quickly. "Don't you think you should've talked to me about this first! It really is my choice to go out with someone anyways!" Fiona yelled at her mother but it didn't seem to take away from the smile on her mother's face.

Claire's smile just seemed to become larger. "There's no need to make such a fuss over this Fiona. He sounded like a really nice guy and he's supposed to be pretty rich as well. You should be happy about this," she said in a calm voice compared to that of her daughter's angry voice.

Fiona didn't even get a chance to respond before her mother left the room leaving Fiona standing there looking at the spot that her mother used to be with a look of disbelief. 'How could she just set me up on a date like that without telling me?' she asked herself as she ran up to her room.

She knew her mother was stubborn. There would be no way of getting out of this date. She was stuck going on it whether she wanted to or not. It frustrated her more than anything now that she couldn't even live her own life without her mother trying to interfere.

Fiona fell onto her bed and threw her head into the pillow and just screamed into it so that it could muffle it. When she felt like she'd screamed enough, she picked up the phone and called the one person that she knew she could talk to about this without any real problems.

The phone rang only twice before it was picked up by just the person she wished to talk to about this. "Hey," Van said from the other end of the phone. She could tell that he knew it was her through his caller id.

Fiona seemed to find a smile whenever she heard Van's voice. It wasn't like she was in love with him but he was her best friend and she knew that she could tell him anything without having to worry about what would happen. "Hey Van," she said her voice not holding the happiness her face showed.

Van was silent from the other side of the line for a few seconds before he spoke again. "Is something wrong Fiona? You don't sound as happy as you usually are," Van said noticing the hint of sadness in his best friend's voice.

It just started to come out after that. Fiona told him everything that her mother did since she first got home. All about the date and everything. "I don't even know this guy Van. How am I supposed to go on a date with him?" Fiona asked as the back of her head hit the pillow and her hair spilled out all around her.

"I supposed that it's pointless to argue with your mother now?" Van asked and Fiona agreed with him. "I guess you have no choice but to go. Doesn't mean that you have to have a good time though," he said with a hint of mischief that Fiona couldn't help but giggle at.

"I don't want to go out with him though. The guy didn't even have the decency to ask me in person. He just had to ask my mother first. I thought she didn't want me going out with anyone though," Fiona said with a sigh as she rubbed her head where a headache was starting to form.

"Fiona! Get off the phone! You need to get ready now for your date! You don't need to be talking with brats like Flyheight when you need to be getting ready!" her mother yelled pounding on the door before she turned and walked away.

Fiona sighed wishing that she had more time to talk to Van but knew her mother would have a cow if Fiona didn't follow this order. "Sorry Van but I have to go. I'll call you when I get back," Fiona said ready to turn off the phone before Van spoke up again making her bring it back to her ears.

"Yeah I guess so. How about I give you a hand though," he said mischievously. "Maybe I can get you out of this date shorter than you thought you would have to," he said and it was obvious that he was trying to think of a way to do this.

Fiona had to admit that she was curious of what Van could get planed in such a short amount of time. Yet she didn't know if it was possible. "If you can then that'll be great but I really need to go. Like I said, I'll talk to you later," Fiona said hearing her mother pounding on the door again before she placed it down. "I'm off!"

Fiona then went about getting ready for the date. She put on some decent yet casual clothes and then went downstairs to wait for the inevitable date. She just wished she could go out with her friends right then. That would be much better than what she was about to do.

"Fiona!" her mother yelled in a rather disappointed tone. "Go back upstairs and put on a nice dress or something. He's taking you to a very nice restaurant and I don't want you going looking like a hooker!" she screamed at her daughter.

Fiona frowned as she looked down at her outfit. It was casual but it was also pretty modest. She didn't see how her mother could possibly find anything about it to make her say that Fiona looked like a hooker. "There's nothing wrong with this and I don't look like a hooker!" she yelled at her mother.

Claire just glared at the young woman before her and pointed towards the stairs. "Yes you do! Now go back upstairs and change. He'll be here any minute since you decided to talk to long on the phone and then took your time getting ready!" she yelled with a note of finality in her voice.

Fiona didn't understand what her mother was saying. She spent five minutes on the phone and only about thirty getting ready but only because she had to take a shower. She just sighed and walked back upstairs and put on something more formal.

She came back down a few minutes later and her mother didn't seem to have a complaint about the outfit she had on now. Instead she decided to come up with a new argument just to piss Fiona off. "Can't you wear makeup? At least look halfway decent," she yelled at Fiona seeming to get really impatient.

Fiona was really going to start yelling but the sound of the doorbell rang and it seemed to just make Claire give up on her argument. She walked to the door and opened it with a big smile to the boy on the other side.

The boy appeared to be a year or two older than Fiona. His hair was blonde and was smoothed back. He was pretty tall being around 5 feet ten inches. He also had a very confident smirk on his face and it only increased when he saw Fiona.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," he said with a polite bow to Claire which she seemed flattered with. "And you are also very beautiful as well Fiona. My name is Damien," he said walking over to her smoothly and kissing the back of her hand. "You look very lovely. Could do with a little makeup but beautiful nonetheless," he said with a smile that would have many girls swooning.

Fiona wasn't sure whether to be insulted or flattered by his compliments. Makeup wasn't her thing and most of the people she knew always thought she didn't need makeup to look nice, except for her mother that is.

"Come, I have some dinner reservations for us. We'd better hurry or we'll miss them," he said taking a hold of her hand and almost dragged her out of the door when she stumbled on the heels that she hated wearing.

* * *

Fiona was really bored as the night seemed to drag on forever. She hated fancy things and this was a really fancy restaurant. Not to mention that her date only seemed to talk about himself the whole time. It was enough to make her wish she was at home so that she could just fall asleep. 

"So then I told him that he was a fool because he could never beat me. I'm the best at it," Damien said going on and on about his stuff never asking her anything about Fiona. "Are you listening Fiona?" he asked looking at her and saw that she looked bored but she nodded nonetheless. "Good because I haven't even gotten to the good part yet," he said with a big grin on his face.

Fiona really wished that she had agreed to let Van ruin this date. The guy was a bore and she just wanted to go home. Yet Van didn't even know where they were going. Even Fiona didn't know until they actually got there.

It continued to drag on and on into the night as he talked about himself. They were just about to leave when he finally stopped but it just started up something that was even more annoying than before.

While they waited for the bill to come, Damien scooted his chair over so that he was sitting right next to Fiona. "This has been really fun Fiona. We should do this again sometime. What do you say," he said in a voice that he was trying to make as charming as possible.

"I don't know, maybe," Fiona said although she made a vow to herself that she would never go on a date with the guy again. Watching paint dry would be a better way to spend her time than listening to him talk about himself. She was just too kind to say those words to his face though.

Damien then placed his hand upon Fiona's knee and softly stroked the soft skin before his hand was pushed away by Fiona. "You know. I know of the perfect way for the night to end," he said placing his hand back on and ignored her complaints and attempts to push his hand away. "Let's head back to my place," he said with a grin that he thought would make her want to do anything he said.

"Um… I don't think so sorry," Fiona said desperately trying to push his hand away as it started to move up. This was really scaring her now. "I have to go!" she said standing up and started to walk away.

Damien just threw a lot of cash on the table recklessly and then ran out after Fiona. 'I'm not going to have my night spoiled just because she's afraid of a little intimacy,' he thought as he ran up and caught her by the arm. "What's the rush? The nights only started Fiona," he said trying to sound kind.

"Listen I'm not ready for anything like that!" she yelled getting annoyed at his persistence and how he wouldn't let go of her arm. It was actually starting to hurt her quite a bit. "Let go of my arm!" she said struggling a bit. She was silenced when he crushed his lips hard to hers in a desperate attempt to take control of the situation. This surprised her. It may not have been her first kiss but it wasn't wanted at all.

He pulled back with a huge grin on his face. "That wasn't so bad was it?" he asked leaning in again prepared to take her right there if he had to but he was then smacked across the face really hard. "What the hell was that for!" he yelled at her angrily.

"Let me go now!" Fiona demanded as she pulled really hard finally releasing herself from his grip. Unfortunately she lost her balance in the process and stumbled backwards really quickly before she fell onto the ground really hard. It was hard enough so that it dazed her for a few moments.

Fiona picked herself off the ground but then she heard the sound of something approaching her quickly. She looked over and her eyes widened as she saw a large truck approaching her and it was then that she realized that she was in the middle of the road. She also found that she couldn't move a bone in her body.

She was frozen in terror as she could only seem to watch as it got within a few feet from her. She closed her eyes tightly as she waited for the inevitable to happen. 'This is it? I'm going to die?' she asked herself shaking in fear but still not able to move. Then she felt herself get hit and everything went blank.


	5. revenge

Fiona sat up quietly in a bed breathing heavily. 'Was it all just a dream?' she asked herself but then she noticed that she wasn't in her room. In fact, she'd never seen the place before but it appeared to be some sort of doctor's office.

Pain spread through Fiona's head and her hand came up and clutched it but she felt that it was covered by a bandage. 'It actually happened? Then why am I still alive? The mere size of that truck should've killed me,' she thought to herself as she pushed herself onto her feet.

"Oh good you're awake," a soft voice said causing Fiona's head to turn and see a nurse walking into the room. "You've been out of it for a couple hours now. Suppose that's better than dying though," she said smiling softly while walking over to Fiona. "How are you feeling?"

Fiona groaned pulling herself up straight while clutching her head. "My head hurts. Do you have anything that can help?" she asked looking at the elderly nurse as she took Fiona's temperature and pulse.

"We might. Just give me a second and I'll get you some," she said walking to the other side of the room and took something out of the cabinets. "Take these. They should work fine," she said handing Fiona two tablets.

"Thank you," Fiona said popping them into her mouth and she took a big sip of water. "Do you… do you know what happened? I remember a truck coming at me but I don't remember what happened after that," she said straining to remember something but it only managed to give her a bigger headache.

The elderly nurse just smiled at her. "You have some loyal friends. Your friend Van threw himself out and pushed you out of the way. You hit your head and he scrapped up his shoulder but other than that everything appeared to be ok," she said with a bright smile before she left the room.

"It was… Van who save me?" Fiona muttered to herself as she pushed herself off the bed. She wasn't even aware that Van was there. He didn't even know that she was being taken there. "How did he… find me?" she asked herself but was glad that he did nonetheless.

Fiona straightened out her clothes and then walked out the door. She looked left and then right but the halls appeared to be empty at that moment. She wished she knew where the waiting room was. She'd never been here before.

Fiona walked for a few minutes until it finally opened up to a busy area. There were people being rushed all over the place. Fiona was in one of the areas meant for minor cases and most of the people here looked like they were in pretty bad shape. It made her situation look small even if she was nearly killed.

Fiona immediately took notice of her three best friends were there and waiting for her. Even Van's mom was there since she'd become very close to Fiona in the past few months. Her friends all ran up to her when they saw that she was up. "Sorry to worry all of you," she said with a soft smile towards all of them.

"How're you feeling Fiona?" Moonbay asked inspecting any place that wasn't bandaged to make sure that the doctors didn't miss anything. "How's your head?" she asked when she saw that Fiona was fine otherwise.

"It's just a little sore but I'll live," Fiona said before she saw that Van was hanging back a little. "I guess I have you to thank for saving me," she said walking up to Van and gave him one of her best smiles.

Van seemed a little nervous about something. "I didn't really do much and it was my fault that you hit your head. I just did what any friend would do in that sort of situation," Van said somehow finding it hard to come up with the right thing to say. He'd never had that type of trouble before. Then again, no one ever made this type of fuss before about something.

Ever since Fiona and him were brought here to be looked at, Irvine and Moonbay had been teasing him none stop as to why he protected Fiona so readily. His mother was making a big fuss about it as well. Sometimes he wondered why his mom took to Fiona so easily when she absolutely hated Fiona's mother.

"It… means a lot to me Van," she said leaning up and giving Van a quick peck on the cheek before standing on her feet completely and smiling bright at him. "It's nice to know that I have such great friends," she said as everyone got their things and started to head out since Fiona was released a few moments ago.

As everyone walked ahead, Fiona fell behind without realizing. She was looking at the ground and then looked up when she heard her name being called. She realized how far behind she was and ran up to catch up with the rest of them.

Fiona still remained a little behind but was within reaching distance of the rest of them. 'If it weren't for Van, I'd be dead right now. If anyone, I know that I can at least trust him above all else,' she thought with a bright smile looking at the back of his head. 'I guess that's just how much I lo…' Fiona suddenly gasped at the mere thought that was just running through her head.

Everyone heard the gasp and turned around quickly and saw Fiona just standing still. "Fiona! Are you alright?" Moonbay asked as she ran up to her shocked friend. It was like Fiona didn't even hear her. "Fiona?" Moonbay said desperately thinking the damage was worse than they thought.

Van looked deep into Fiona's eyes and saw conflicting emotions. "Fiona? Are you ok?" he asked shaking her shoulder lightly which seemed to finally snap her out of her stupor. "Are you ok?" he asked looking at her with worried eyes. He just hoped that it wasn't anything too serious.

Fiona looked at Van for a second before looking at the ground. She somehow found it a bit hard to look at Van that moment. "I'm fine. I… just have a lot on my mind," she muttered looking at her feet.

Van looked at her a bit skeptically at first but the nodded his head. He made a mental note to keep a close eye on Fiona. He didn't want the take the chance of something happening to his best friend. "You sure?" he asked looking at her closely as if making sure she wasn't lying.

"Y-yeah," Fiona said as she walked ahead of the rest of them as they watched her closely. 'I-I can't actually love him. That's just impossible. He's my best friend and that's all it is,' she tried her best to convince her mind. She then put on a smile thinking that it was the last of her weird thoughts.

The small group walked out of the hospital and into the morning air. Fiona had to admit that she was definitely out of it longer than she thought. She was upset though. The doctor thought it would be best if she took the day off of school apparently. 'And it's only the second day,' she mentally whined.

Karin turned and smiled at the young woman. "Do you want to go home Fiona?" Karin asked and Fiona just shook her head. "Well you're not going to school. You need to rest," she said sternly before a smile crossed her face. "You can just come over to our place," she suggested with a kind smile.

Fiona opened her mouth to accept when a voice interrupted her. "That won't be necessary," Claire said as a car that just pulled in opened up and she stepped out. "Come Fiona. We're heading home," she said sternly waiting for Fiona.

Karin looked towards Fiona and saw that she didn't know what to do. "You don't have to if you don't want to. It's your choice Fiona," she said as everyone watched the argument that was about to brew between the two older women.

Claire grew angry at this. "Yes she does! As long as she is living under my roof, she will do exactly what I say!" she said angrily getting in Karin's face. It made her angry that Karin didn't even seem to be fazed by her words.

Fiona groaned and just walked over and got into the Flyheight's car. Fiona didn't feel like talking to her mother right then. It was her fault in some ways that Fiona was in the situation that she was in. Fiona didn't want to be on that date in the first place. Her mother made her go on it.

Claire scowled as Karin smirked in victory. "So sorry but I have some plans. Looks like she made her choice. So tough luck," Karin said walking to the car where everyone was waiting and they all drove off.

Claire stood there with a scowl on her face. "Interfering wench! She never knew when it was best to just stay out of other people's business! Things would've been a lot better for me if it weren't for those two," she said angrily as she got in the car and drove off.

* * *

"Damn it!" Van said kicking a rock as hard as he could sending it flying down the street. "Why is it that only Fiona got to have the day off of school? She still made me go," Van grumbled as Irvine and Moonbay walked behind him while they walked to school.

"Oh I don't know, maybe it was because of the fact that she was nearly ran over by a car last night," Irvine muttered as he walked with his hands behind his head with Moonbay right next to him.

Van just groaned and stuffed his hands into his pockets as the three of them walked into the school yards. They were all late but Van's mom couldn't drive them because his father really needed the car by the time that they got back home for a quick change.

'I swear, if I ever get my hands on that guy I'm going to pound his face in for not protecting Fiona,' Van thought as he punched the palm of his hand. 'The guy didn't even try to help her,' he thought growing even angrier by the moment.

Moonbay saw Van's expression and leaned over towards Irvine. "Is it me or does Van seem angrier than usual today?" she whispered to Irvine and received a nod in response. "What do you think it's about? Fiona wasn't really hurt," she said thinking back to Fiona's injuries.

"You know how protective he is when it comes to Fiona," Irvine whispered back and Moonbay nodded her head instead. "Apparently her date didn't even try to help her and I think that's what's ticking Van off the most," Irvine continued to whisper to Moonbay.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Moonbay yelled taking on an expression similar to that of Van's. She wanted to make sure that this guy had what was coming to him soon enough. She knew who it was as well and was planning her revenge. "I'm going to kill that guy!" she yelled and Van gladly nodded his head.

The two of them spotted the guy Damien and his friends all gathered outside the school. All of them appeared to be skipping out on class and just hanging outside for no reason. The group had six people and they were all seniors in school. There were three boys and three girls in the group. The boys at least looked like they were pretty tough.

"I'm going to kill him!" Van and Moonbay yelled charging towards the guy who didn't even seem to realize they were approaching until one of his friends pointed them out. He didn't even seem the least bit worried about it.

Damien watched them approach and knew exactly what this was about. "What the hell do you want?" he asked with a smirk as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Oh wait, it must have to do with that woman. What a lousy date that was," he said not even afraid of what their response would be.

Van growled but held himself back from attacking the guy at that moment. "What the hell is you problem! She could've been killed last night and you didn't even do anything to save her!" Van yelled really wanting to bash this guys face in.

"It's my life, why risk it for someone who won't even put out?" he asked and there was actually a hint of amusement in his voice at it. "Why even try when there would be nothing in it for me?" he asked and the other guys and girls laughed about it as well.

Van and Moonbay had just heard enough and were about to launch themselves at the guy when an arm was put around their necks and they felt themselves being dragged backwards by Irvine. "Let us go!" the two of them yelled at him as he dragged them into the school.

"And let the two of you get pulverized by him and his gang. I don't think so. Besides…" he said and a grin formed on his face that made the two of them feel a little nervous just to see it. "There is always another way to do it. Wounds will heal. You need something better."

Van and Moonbay were curious as to what he had planned. He then leaned over and whispered what he had planned into their ears. Both of them grinned at the idea. They knew that this plan would be so much better than what they were about to do.

* * *

The day passed by and lunch came to them faster than they expected it to. The three friends were walking down the halls still discussing their plans. All three of them looked eager to do this. They knew it will take some sacrifices but all were eager to get him back for almost leaving Fiona to die.

"Move it losers!" Damien said shoving past the three of them to grab his food first. He was shoving several underclassmen away as well and didn't look the least bit sorry. He then just left without even paying for the food.

Moonbay growled as she watched this as well as the rest of the students in the lunch line. "Just because he's the captain of the football team he thinks that he can get away with anything," she grumbled as they grabbed their food and quickly paid for it.

Irvine looked over and saw the small group just standing off to the poking fun at one of the freshmen. He nodded his head and the three of them separated and went to different areas.

Van walked over towards the small group with his tray loosely held in his hands. He merely looked like he was trying to get around them. "Excuse me," he muttered trying to shove past the group. He knew exactly what they were about to do.

"Hold it right there Flyheight," The bigger of Damien's two friends said stopping him right in his tracks. "Gotta pay a fine to get by us," he said with a snicker looking at Van's food, or more precisely a piece of cake that was on Van's tray.

"Sorry but I'm in a hurry so I should get going," Van said trying to walk past them. He felt the guy grab his arm and pull him back. Van was expecting this as well and stumbled back looking unbalanced and ended up slamming his tray full of food right into Damien's face.

The entire cafeteria burst out in laughter at the mere sight of it. Damien looked shocked and was stunned for a second before a scowl crossed his face. "How dare you!" he yelled angrily as he prepared to punch Van before he was interrupted.

Irvine and Moonbay shoved past the group, grabbed Van, and stepped outside of it. "What do you think you're doing Van?" he asked but he was having trouble holding in the laughter that was threatening to erupt.

"What do you mean?" Van asked looking innocent as if he was appalled to think that Irvine could accuse him of such a think. "It was their fault in the first place," he said hiding the smirk just enough so that it did make him look like it wasn't his fault in the first place.

"No, No, that isn't what he meant. He meant that you did it all wrong," Moonbay said looking at Irvine as she picked up her cake and walked towards Damien and shoved the cake in his expensive looking shirt making sure to smear it on really good. "See?" she asked with a smile.

"Hey Van," Irvine said looking highly amused. "you know how to run right?" he asked and Van just nodded his heads. "Good, then start running," he said throwing all of his food over Damien and his friends.

Van, Moonbay, and Irvine all took off running at that exact moment. The three other friends came out of their stupor and growled. "Get them!" Damien yelled as the three of them took off after Van and the others.

Van, Irvine, and Moonbay were laughing their asses off as they ran down the hallways ignoring the many teachers that told them to start walking. They knew that if they did they'd get their asses handed to them by the pissed off group that was hot on their tails.

* * *

By the end of the day, the three of them got a detention but had somehow managed to evade Damien and his gang long enough to get away with it. Their detention wasn't even for their stunt either. It was just for ignoring the teachers and running in the halls. All three of them felt that it was well worth it just to see the look on Damien's face when they humiliated him in front of the school.

Van was laughing as the three of them walked down the road towards their home. "That was great. That guy's had it coming for a long time," Van said glad that he could get Fiona's as well as his own revenge.

"No kidding. Did you see his face?" Moonbay asked laughing just as hard as she tried to make a face that was supposed to imitate the one Damien had made. "I think we'll be heroes by tomorrow," she said with a chuckle.

Irvine suddenly stopped. Damien and his gang suddenly jumped out of nowhere and surrounded the three of them. "That's if we are alive," he said although there was a hint of amusement to his voice.

"That's right, because we plan to beat all three of you down for humiliating us like that earlier. All this humiliation because of some stupid bitch. I will make you pay for that," Damien growled angrily while cracking his knuckles. He was looking all too eager to beat them up.

Van growled as he took a few steps towards the guy. "Fiona isn't a bitch. You just left her there not even caring if she got hit by that truck. I saw you. You just turned and walked away with a smile when you saw that truck coming. You're a bastard who deserves humility for what you did," Van said clutching his hands into fists as he got in the guys face.

Damien struck out and punch Van in the face causing him to stumble back a few feet but he managed to stay on his feet. "I said it earlier. Why save her life if there's nothing in it for me?" he asked with a smirk getting ready to punch Van again.

Van growled and then punched the guy with all of his strength which sent Damien straight to the ground. "You shouldn't have to get anything in return. For me, just knowing that she is still alive because of me is enough," Van said glaring down at the guy.

Damien got off the ground and wiped a bit of blood off his face. "I hate people like you. You make me sick," he muttered as he stood up straight. He cracked his knuckles again and him and his gang went to attack them again.

* * *

The door opened and Van walked into his house clutching his face where a rather bad looking red mark was forming. His lip was bleeding as well but that didn't seem to be bothering him as much. He felt that all the pain that he went through was well worth it. 'Besides, he's in much worse shape than I am,' Van thought with a smirk.

"Oh good you're home," Karin said as she left the kitchen and walked towards Van but stopped when she saw the shape he was in. "What happened Van!" she yelled rushing over and examining the wounds on her only son.

Van didn't even seem worried. He just smiled. "This is nothing," Van muttered as his mother pushed him towards the kitchen to get him cleaned up. "That guy needed some sort of punishment," Van said rubbing his cheek.

Karin didn't need to ask to know who it was that Van was talking about. "That may be so but you know that I don't approve of you fighting," she said sternly as she got an ice pack and placed it on his face.

Van couldn't help but chuckle. "I would it more of self defense than fighting," he said clutching the ice pack as his mother searched for something. "It would've been worse if I didn't," he said wincing a bit at the feel of the icepack on the wound on his cheek.

It was in that moment that Fiona came walking into the room. "What happened Van!" she asked looking at him worriedly. She slowly walked towards him as she looked over some of the visible wounds.

"He got into a fight is what happened," Karin said walking over with some disinfectant. "This will sting Van," she said dabbing it on a paper towel and placed it over a small cut he had on his chin. She saw him flinch but he didn't say one word of complaint besides that.

"Don't worry so much Fiona. I'm fine," Van said giving her a heart warming smile. "Besides, it was well worth it. The guy left you to die. He deserved some sort of humiliation. I could understand people being scared but he just smiled and walked away. That was unforgivable," Van said with a smile but he saw a frown on Fiona's face.

Fiona didn't like the idea that Van was hurt for her sake. "You didn't have to do that for me Van. I'm still alive. You didn't have to get in a fight with him because of me," she said taking a seat in a chair next to Van.

Van's mom left the room after she was done cleaning Van's wounds which left Van and Fiona alone. "The fight wasn't technically about you. It was about the humiliation me, Irvine, and Moonbay dealt him in front of the school earlier. That one was about you though," he said with a chuckle. "It was great. I don't think he'll ever get all of the food off of him," he said breaking into laughter.

Fiona could pretty much figure out what they did just by that and she had to admit that it was pretty funny. Even she couldn't hold in the laughter that was threatening to erupt. It was several minutes before they were finally able to calm down. "Are you ok Van? How are your wounds now?" she asked with a small smile.

"I'm fine. No need to worry about it too much. He's in worse shape than I am," he said giving her a smile. "So, are you staying the night?" he asked her and she nodded her head. "Cool. Hey, why don't we go watch a movie or something?" he asked as the two of them stood up and walked towards the living room.

"That sounds like fun. I know the perfect one too," Fiona said with a smile as she walked over to the movie case and started to look through them till she found the one that she wanted and put it in. She then walked over and took a seat next to Van as the movie started.

The two of them watched movies and had fun for hours until the sun had long since set. Van had fallen asleep a while before then but Fiona was still awake doing a bit of thinking about all that had happened that day, all that had happened since she moved there, and all that was happening between her and Van.

Fiona looked towards Van as his head leaned back against the back of the couch. He appeared to be sleeping very peacefully at that moment and that made her happy to see. 'He's so peaceful when he sleeps,' she thought with a smile as she stood up and started to clean up their mess. She knew that he didn't like her doing that at his home but she felt that it was the least she could do to pay him back.

She was about half way done with the small amount of cleaning when Van finally woke up. "You don't have to do that Fiona," he said walking over and started to help her with the rest of it. "You're a guest. You shouldn't have to clean up like this," he said throwing some stuff in the garbage.

"I know but I want to help out. It's the least I could do after all that you've done for me these last two days," she said with a smile as they finished it up and then the two of them walked up to his room. "Thanks for everything by the way," she said shyly as they sat down on the bed.

"It was nothing Fiona. I was more than glad to do it," he said lying down on the bed and Fiona did the same. It was normal between them to just sleep in the same room or bed. It was friendly and they didn't have any other intentions besides that. It was comfortable between them.

It wasn't long before Van fell asleep but Fiona was still awake. She laid there looking at him as she started to accept what she'd been trying to fight off for a while. 'I guess… maybe… I am falling for him,' she thought with a sad smile. 'Even so, I can't tell him but that doesn't mean that I won't just be happy with him near me,' she thought closing her eyes and falling asleep.


	6. their doubts

"Again!" Van yelled in the middle of the entire cafeteria. He didn't even mind when everyone that was there turned and stared at him for the sudden outburst. "Can't that old bat just butt out of your life?" Van asked looking really disgruntled by the news that he'd just heard from Fiona.

Fiona chuckled nervously looking at all the stares that were directed towards the small group sitting in one of the corners. "Please don't call her that Van. She is my mother after all," Fiona said trying to calm her best friend down.

"No!" Van said stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest. "If she was a mother than she'd let you make decisions for yourself. She's not giving you any choices!" he said stubbornly not even caring that people were staring at him.

"Sorry Fiona but I'm going to have to agree with Van on this one," Irvine said and Moonbay nodded in agreement. "She forcing you on date that you don't even want to go on. Has she ever let it up to you to actually choose by yourself?" he asked but she couldn't seem to answer. "How many time is it that she's done this?" he questioned wanting to hear it from her mouth even though he knew the answer.

Fiona sighed and looked at the top of the table. "It's the third one she's made this year," she said and remembered how bad the first two were. They were nothing but sex obsessed perverts. Those dates didn't last very long after they showed what they were truly like.

Van was seething at the thought of them. They were treating Fiona like a sex object and he knew that she didn't really appreciate it. He swore that he'd murder her mother if this was another one of those guys.

Moonbay noticed how Van was acting and couldn't help but grin. "You jealous Van?" she whispered so that only he could hear. The blush that crossed his face was the only answer that she needed. "I'm mean these guys are rich, handsome, yet complete jerks and yet they get to go out with Fiona and you don't," she continued to tease because she knew what Van felt for Fiona even if he didn't say it.

"I'm not jealous of those jerks!" Van yelled out loud since he hated to be teased like this. He looked towards Fiona and could've swore he saw a hurt look on her face but it disappeared quickly so he wasn't completely sure if he actually saw it.

A glare was sent his way by both Irvine and Moonbay. They knew what they saw in Fiona's eyes from his reaction. They knew how much she cared for Van. How much she wished that he'd just get up the courage and ask her out. 'Idiot,' they both thought it unison.

Fiona stood up calmly and grabbed her tray. "I've got to get to the library. I'll talk to all of you in class," she said before walking away with the rest of the groups' eyes following after her.

Irvine sighed knowing what it was that Fiona was feeling at that moment. "Way to go Van! I think you hurt her feelings with that big mouth of yours!" Irvine said glaring at Van which caused him to shrink back a bit.

"What!" Van yelled looking indignant. "How could I have upset her! It's not like we're going out or anything!" he said and everyone knew that his words were really inspired by his jealous of that one fact. He'd love to ask her out. He was just afraid of what it would do to their friendship if he did.

"Get over it!" Irvine and Moonbay yelled at the same time punching him in the stomach as hard as they could. "Why don't you quick being stubborn and just tell her how you actually feel about her!" they continued to yelled at him in perfect unison. To everyone else, they were in no position to lecture Van when they were being just as stubborn about each other.

Van gasped for air while on the ground. "You… you're not one to talk to me when you too are just as stubborn as me!" he managed to gasp out what was on just about the minds of everyone that was in the cafeteria.

Irvine and Moonbay decided to just not say anymore. They both took their seats and started to eat once again. Just about everyone in the room could see how transparent they were even if they refused to admit the truth.

Van managed to regain full use of his lungs and pulled himself off the ground and into his seat. He'd suddenly lost his appetite since he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep the food down after that double punch. "I lost my appetite. "I'm going to get going," he said picking up his tray and dumped it before walked out of the cafeteria.

Almost as soon as he walked out of the cafeteria, Van saw a group of people he hated. It was Damien and his group. They just glared at each other but didn't do anything. Van knew it was because they didn't want to get their asses kicked like the last time they fought. Van, Irvine, and Moonbay gained quite a reputation and some popularity from the act since no one had the guts to stand up to the guy before then.

Van just walked by without saying a word and walked down the halls. He figured that he could probably go to the library and talk to Fiona for a little. He had admit to himself that she did look upset and he wanted to see if everything was alright.

Walking into the library, Van looked around and was quick to spot Fiona in one of the corners reading a book that had her utmost interest. He quietly walked over there and took a seat across from her but she didn't look up from the book. "What are you reading?" he asked pulling a few things out of his backpack.

Fiona was silent for several and never took her eyes away from the book in front of her even when she did respond. "A book," was Fiona's simple reply. It was pretty clear that she was angry about something but didn't want to talk about something.

"Well I could've told you that," Van said rolling his eyes. "What's wrong? Are you angry with me about something?" he asked trying to get her attention away from the book that she was getting too into reading.

A sigh escaped her mouth and she set the book down. "It's nothing," she said softly looking into Van's eyes. She was just upset about what he yelled out in the cafeteria. She'd always hoped that he'd maybe see her as more than a friend and ask her out sometime. She knew she'd never be able to say no if he did. Now she knew what he really thought about it and it did hurt her.

"Come on Fiona, cheer up. If you'd like then I'll ruin your date for you," Van said finding the offer very tempting to help relieve his anger of the thought of Fiona going out with jerk like that. She deserved someone that would respect her and these guys her mother was setting her up with weren't those people.

"That's ok. I'll just deal with this by myself," she said with a sigh stuffing the book in her backpack. 'Maybe we'll never be anything more than friends,' she thought with a frown while waiting for the bell to ring.

There was a tension around them for a few minutes after there before Van finally spoke up. "So you're going out with him later today?" he couldn't help but ask with a slight tone of bitterness in his voice.

"Yeah, we're supposed to go to dinner and the movies," she said looking at Van wishing he'd say more about it. "The year's going to be ending soon. What are you planning to do?" she asked curiously hoping that he'd be staying here so that she'd have a friend to talk to since both Irvine and Moonbay were leaving with their families for the summer and she had to stay there since her mom wouldn't even consider a vacation. She always claimed that Fiona didn't deserve it.

"Nothing. With my father going from job to job every month, it makes it hard to make the money needed for a vacation. Oh well, at least I'll have you to keep me company," he said with a grin while resting his head on the desk.

"Sounds like fun," Fiona said smiling at the thought. 'With none of our friends to interrupt, maybe I can tell him how I feel,' she thought before shaking the thought from her head. She didn't want to ruin her friendship with Van by forcing her feelings onto him when he might not feel the same.

The bell rang a few minutes later and the two of them stood up and walked out of the library next to each other. To everyone else, they almost looked like a couple that was walking to class together.

* * *

Fiona's eye twitched as she looked at what her mother laid out for the date she was forcing Fiona to go on. 'There's no way in hell that I'm wearing something like that!' she thought seeing the rather skimpy outfit. She couldn't believe that her mother would even want her to.

The black skirt that was laid out was way too short for her and she would never consider wearing something like that. It would be wear to easy to see her underwear with just the slightest of movements. The top was red and showed way too much cleavage for her liking. 'The first time she did this she said the outfit I chose looked like something a hooker would wear. This is ten times worse than that. What is she thinking?' Fiona thought deciding that she wasn't going to wear it. It wasn't her style to wear something like that.

Going through her closet, Fiona grabbed a comfortable a decent pair of clothes to wear. She wasn't going to let her mom dictate everything that she did from who she went out with to what she should wear especially when they choices her mom made were pretty lousy.

"Fiona!" Claire yelled from down the stairs. This just caused Fiona to roll her eyes. She grabbed her shoes and slid them on before she walked out of her room and down the stair. "Why aren't you wearing what I laid out for you!" she yelled upon seeing what Fiona was wearing.

The look that Fiona gave her mom lacked little emotions. "Because it looks like something a hooker would wear," she said turning her mother's own words against her. "If I'm going to be forced onto these dates then I'll wear what I want," she said and took a seat not listening to her mother's complaints.

The doorbell rang several minutes later and it was Claire that answered the door. The man at the door was about six feet. His hair was black and fell loosely but neatly. He had a pair of glasses on and a smile on his face. From first glance he seemed like a decent person.

"Ah Seth, it's really good to see you," Claire said giving him a warm smile. "My daughter is ready for the most part," she said letting him into the house. "Come here Fiona!" she yelled out since Fiona wasn't where she was sitting a few moments prior to the doorbell ringing.

Fiona reluctantly walked into the room and saw the guy. "Hello there," she said politely. She had to admit that he was good looking but she still didn't have much interest in going on the date. She didn't know why her mom was forcing her to.

"Why hello," Seth said taking the few steps towards Fiona and looked her over. "I must say you're much more beautiful than I originally though. It's a pleasure to meet you Fiona," he said taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

Fiona was slightly surprised. The last two she was forced to go out with had small complaints to make like her not wearing makeup or stuff like that. He seemed to be completely polite about what he did. She couldn't help but blush a little at that.

Claire just smirked and walked out of the room. Seth held out his arm for Fiona to take. Hesitantly she did and he led her out of the house and towards his expensive looking car. It was the only thing that connected this guy to the other two, the fact that he was stinking rich.

Fiona was actually counting down the time until she suspected him of trying something. Damien lasted half the night that he meant to take her out before she ran off. Her second date last a whole five minutes before she slapped him for rude comments and inappropriately touching her. She couldn't help but suspect that this guy would do something like that as well.

It was silent as he drove on. Fiona didn't really feel like talking right then because she was still a bit suspicious about him trying to do something. "So Fiona, I've been told about how smart you are. Do you know what you plan to do with that knowledge when you get out of school?" he asked deciding to start a conversation between the two of them.

Fiona settled down a little and relax seeing that his hands were where she could clearly see them. "I haven't decided quite yet," she admitted since she hadn't thought that far ahead quite yet. She was trying but couldn't figure out what to do with her life after college.

The rest of the drive was fairly pleasant. He was a complete gentleman to her. He asked her questions and answered any she had. She figured that she could at least give him a chance since he was being kind and polite to him. 'Not like Van's shown any real romantic interest in me.'

* * *

Van just couldn't help himself. He didn't trust anyone that Claire set Fiona up with. He ended up following after them since this time he was more aware of where the guy was going to be taking Fiona.

Call it jealousy or whatever but he really hoped that Fiona wouldn't actually fall for one of these guys. He would stay out of the way though. He would just make sure that the guy didn't try anything to Fiona to would be deemed inappropriate.

His heart clenched when he noticed that Fiona actually seemed to be having a good time for the most part. He really wished that it could be him that she was going out with but he just could never find the courage needed to the able to ask her out. 'I'm a coward,' he thought as his hands clenched tightly at his side.

Van was just waiting for the guy to do something, anything, so that Van could have a reason to break the date off. So far the guy was on his best behavior. His hands remained in his pockets most of the time and have yet to even come close to doing anything to Fiona.

He followed them all around the place. When they went to the movies, he watched them instead of the movie. They appeared to be talking but it didn't appear that the guy had any other intentions right then.

'Please don't let this date become something else,' Van mentally pleaded upon seeing a smile on Fiona's face. He worried that if it did and they became an item that Fiona might not be able to hang out with him as much as she used to. That would be even more painful than having to see her with someone else.

He cursed himself for not just asking her out while he had the chance to. With a sigh of defeat, he stood up and walked out of the theater. He could see that Fiona wouldn't need his help since the guy was actually behaving himself unlike all the other jerks she was set up with. Not to mention that she appeared to actually be having a good time. He intended to talk to Fiona about it later though.

* * *

Fiona was pretty much aware that Van was following her for most of the first half of the date. She was touched that he worried about her. 'It at least means that he cares enough about me to worry,' she thought with a small smile. She got the feeling that she didn't need to worry about Seth doing anything though. He was polite and never did anything that made her feel uncomfortable.

Seth looked towards Fiona. He smiled and spoke something that was on his mind. "By the way Fiona, did you know that someone had been following us up until the theater?" Seth asked looking behind him but didn't see anyone.

"Yeah, it's a friend of mine by the name of Van. He's always been a good friend for me and was always there when I needed him. He was just worried because the other people that my mom set me up with were complete jerks," she said with a smile at the thought of how worried he was.

"You mean Van Flyheight?" he asked and she just nodded her head. "I heard about what he did to your other dates. He sounds like a rather jealous guy," he said looking behind him again but still didn't see anyone.

"No, he's just worried. He's been my best friend since I moved down here," she said trying not to sound disappointed that it wasn't more than just best friends. She'd rather be his girlfriend than just his best friend. 'Can't always get what you want,' she thought with a sigh.

"Sounds like the two of you are really close. Is there anything else between the two of you?" he asked and smiled when she shook her head no. "Good," he said and she looked at him in surprise. "That means that I still have a chance," he said giving her a bright smile. "I really enjoyed this Fiona and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out again," he said stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Fiona had to think it over for a little. 'He's a nice guy. Hasn't done anything to me like those other two. Besides, it's not like Van's going to be asking me out anytime soon,' she thought with a frown before smiling. "I don't think that'll be a problem," she said before suddenly feeling herself being kissed.

It was sudden but not unpleasant. He kept it innocent and gave her the room needed to pull back if she wanted to. Somehow she found herself kissing him back. It was nice but something about it didn't feel right.

He pulled back with a smile on his face. "It's getting late. I'd better take you home," he said taking a hold of her hand within his own before leading her towards his car which was parked a block away from the theater since it was crowded.

The drive home was silent. Fiona had a lot on her mind that she didn't want to say. He didn't force her to say it either. She was glad that he was understanding but in her eyes he was no Van. He was nice and she liked him but she loved Van. 'He hasn't really shown any romantic interest in me though,' she thought with a silent sigh.

"You should smile more," Seth said taking a quick look at her before turning his eyes back to the road. "It makes you look much more beautiful then when you frown," he said giving her a smile of his own.

"Right," Fiona said trying to smile but it felt forced. She then just turned and looked out the window. She felt bad. He was being kind to her but she was being quiet. 'Maybe I'm just tired. It is getting pretty late at night,' she reasoned with herself as she stared out the window as the scenery passed by quickly.

They pulled up in front of her house five minutes later and she stepped out of the car and started to walk to her door. "Thank you. This has been fun," she said reaching for the doorknob. Before she could reach it he grabbed her hand carefully and turned her to face him. He gave her another kiss that left her stunned before turning and walking to his car while waving to her.

Fiona shook it off and walked into her house. She ignored her mother who looked pleased with herself and just walked up to her room. She fell on her bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments.

Taking a look at the phone, Fiona decided to call Van. She felt a strong desire to talk to him. She picked up the phone and dialed his number. It rang several times before Van's mother picked up on the other end of the phone. "Hey, it's Fiona. Is Van there?" she asked and her face suddenly became worried. "He's not home? Do you know where he is?" she heard the reply on the other end and frowned. "Thanks anyways," she said before hanging up the phone.

Van wasn't home and his mother had no idea where he was. Fiona thought that he would've been able to get home by then since he stopped following her over and that was nearly two hour ago. Even walking, it took about an hour and a half to get there. He should've been back home for a while.

'Where are you Van?' she asked herself getting a bit worried. She knew that Van liked to stay out late at times. She just hoped that he'd call her when he got back home. She just wanted to talk to him for a little bit.

* * *

Van sighed and stared up at the sky through the branches of a tree. He looked like he was in pain. 'I guess I'm just not meant to be happy. My dad can't keep a job so my family can barely get by. Now Fiona is…' he thought closing his eyes tightly at the thought that came to him.

'To thin, I actually thought I might be able to tell her how I felt,' he thought remembering what he planned to do earlier that day. 'Nothing ever goes as planned and now it's too late,' he continued to think with a sad sigh.

Flashback

He was really worried. Fiona appeared to be having a really good time on her date and it made him worry that things would change in his own relationship with her. They were the best of friends. There were things they would no longer be able to do if she got herself a boyfriend.

'What if you were to become that boyfriend?' his mind taunted him as he kicked a rock down the street. 'Then you'd be able to do things that you can't do when you're just best friends. All you need to do is ask her out,' it continued to taunt.

A growl escaped his throat and he kicked the rock as hard as he could. It went flying into a bunch of bushes. "With how much fun she appeared to be having, it might not even be possible. She might choose him!" he said bitterly. "Maybe I should at least try. Maybe things didn't turn out the way I fear it would."

He changed his direction towards Fiona's house. 'I will talk to her about it. Maybe things will become even better between us,' he thought putting on a smile at the thought of something actually happening between the two of them.

Her house came into view several minutes later. He also noticed a car pulling into the driveway at that exact moment. "What timing, she just got back," he said silently to himself as he took a few hesitant steps forward. He saw her walking towards the door with the guy shortly behind her. He didn't know what stopped him from making his presence known.

He heard Fiona mention something about having a good time and then turned towards the door before the guy stopped her. Van's eyes widen when he saw the guy lean down and press his lips to Fiona. His heart hurt at the sight. It hurt even worse when he saw that she actually appeared to be enjoying it.

Before he could be seen, Van turned around and left before either of them noticed him and just walked away silently. He needed a lot of time to think this over. He knew just the place for him to go to do that.

End Flashback

Now he found himself in a park he used to go to as a kid. He sat perched on a branch in a tree. 'I'm so stupid for ever thinking that anything could've worked between us. What do I have to give her? I'm poor and he's rich and can give her everything she could want,' he thought with a sad sigh.

'I gave up before I could even try,' he thought staring towards the sky some more. "If she really is with him now, how can I still have the same relationship I had with her before? It would probably only cause trouble for her and her new boyfriend," he said quietly to himself.

He climbed down from the tree and dusted himself off before sighing. "If only I had been so cowardly, maybe I could've had a chance," he said before walking along the path towards his house.


	7. the beginning

Never before had Fiona felt so alone. It was true that she had several friends, and even a boyfriend now but she couldn't get over this emptiness that was in her heart ever since she started dating Seth.

'And I thought having a boyfriend would actually make me feel better,' she thought with a sigh finding that she could focus on the class. 'It's like Van has been avoiding me at all costs since then. What's going on?' she asked herself watching as the trees outside the window moved with the breeze.

Taking a look towards Van, she noticed the distance between them. They used to sit next to each other in class all the time. She didn't see why he was being so distance now. 'I thought we were best friends. Why does it suddenly have to change? I know I have a boyfriend now but it's not like Van and I were ever romantically involved before then,' she thought feeling a pain in her heart at such a thought.

Van's head turned and stared at Fiona. He frowned when he saw that she was just staring out the window. 'Why did things have to turn out like this? I guess I just don't want to get in her way now that she has a boyfriend,' he thought laying his head down on the desk without taking his eyes off of her.

To Van, there were so many things that the two of them did as friends since they weren't attached to anyone else. They stayed over at Van's house a lot and even had a tendency to sleep in the same bed. That was how comfortable they were with each other, how much trust they had in each other. Van just knew that they couldn't enjoy each other's company like that now that she had a boyfriend.

'I'd love for her just to not have one so that we could just remain as we were. Even if we weren't a couple, it would be a lot better than it is now,' he thought with a sigh before turning his head which was just before Fiona looked in his direction again.

'I'm sick of this! I want to be able to talk to him again!' Fiona thought growing a bit annoyed at Van's attitude towards her. She looked up at the clock and noticed that there was still a few minutes left before the end of the day.

No sooner had the bell rang than Van dashed out of the classroom. He didn't want to have to face Fiona and end up doing something that might interfere with her and her boyfriend. He hated the guy but he knew that he had yet to do anything wrong to Fiona. 'I'll just have to put up with it I guess,' he thought rushing out of the school.

Fiona noticed him running off quickly and grabbed her things as well. 'I swear that I will get him to talk to me if it's the last thing I do!' she thought as she quickly stopped at her locker to grab her things before leaving school for the day.

Looking around quickly, Fiona could find no sign of Van so she just ran in the direction of his house. 'I just don't understand why he refuses to talk to me,' she thought growing frustrated as everyone just watched her running by.

Before Fiona could react, someone stepped in her path and Fiona went crashing into the guy's chest. "Easy there Fiona. You're sure in a hurry," an amused voice said as he held Fiona in a tight embrace so that she wouldn't fall.

Fiona's eye were shut tightly since she was prepared to hit the ground but they slowly opened and stared into the violet eyes of the man she called her boyfriend, Seth. "Oh… um… sorry. I was looking for a friend of mine," she said quietly looking towards the floor feeling strange that he was around. It had been like that for her ever since she became his girlfriend. He was a really nice guy to her but she felt something unpleasant when he was around.

"Ok then, I promise that I won't keep you but I wanted to talk to you in private really quickly," Seth said giving her a smile as he took her hand and started to carefully drag her towards the side of the school where there were few people.

Fiona slowly pulled her hand away when he let it go and straightened herself out. "Alright, what is it that you needed to talk about and why couldn't you have just have said it before?" Fiona asked looking around as if hoping that Van really hadn't left quite yet.

"Sorry that I just dragged you over her. I just don't do well in crowds," he said just trying to get her attention away from whatever she was looking for. "Listen, are you doing anything this Saturday because I was hoping we could go on a date," he said placing his hand under her chin to make her look at him in the eye since she was still looking around.

"Is that all? I would be happy to," Fiona said giving him a smile. "What time?" she asked and he gave her an answer. "I will see you then but I really must be going," Fiona said while taking a few steps back. I will talk to you later," she said before turning around completely in order to continue.

* * *

Van growled as he got into his room. He threw his backpack to some corner of the room and then fell down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Damn it! Why did I have to start having these stupid feelings?!" Van growled out slamming his fist down onto the soft mattress below him. 

Karin quietly walked up to Van's door and listened to him as he vented his anger. She didn't tell him but she was also rather upset by the current events. 'Things weren't supposed to turn out this way!' she thought with a frown as she turned around and left the area thinking that her son just needed some time alone to get his thoughts together and finally decide to talk to Fiona again.

The sound of the front door opening once again caught her attention and she looked and smiled when she saw that it was Fiona that was coming in. They had given her a key once so that she would just be able to come and go as she pleased. "Oh Fiona, it's so good to see you again. You haven't been around much lately since you got a boyfriend," she said with a pout directed towards the woman she thought of as a second daughter.

"I'm terribly sorry about that," Fiona said trying to put a smile on her face despite how troubled she was feeling with how Van was acting. He was her best friend and he was ignoring her like they didn't even know each other. "Is Van here?" she asked hopeful and smiled when she saw Karin nod her head.

No sooner had those words come out of her mouth than the door to Van's room opened and he came walking out. He didn't look at her; instead he just walked straight by and out the door without even saying a single word to either woman.

"Not again!" Fiona yelled looking at the door. She then turned towards Karin. "I'm terribly sorry but I guess I have to go now," she said and saw Karin nod before she turned and ran after the fleeing Van.

'Please don't let it happen again,' Karin mentally pleaded as she turned to walk into the kitchen only for the front door to open again. "Oh no," she said since she knew it had to be her husband since it couldn't be Van or Fiona yet.

As expected, Dan came walking into the room several minutes looking really exhausted and troubled. Karin knew before he said anything that he must've been laid off from yet another job. "Don't tell me that you lost yet another job," Karin groaned as he took a seat and she soon followed and went to get a glass of water.

"I did," Dan said taking the glass of water that his wife was offering him, "and it's his fault this time as well," Dan said referring to his old boss. "Why can't he just leave me alone in my new jobs?" Dan said laying his head in his hand as his wife placed her hands on his shoulders.

"He just doesn't want you to be placed in a position against him is my guess. You were too good an employee that he worried about what you might do working for rivals. He knows you would be too good if given a high enough position so he's doing what he can to stop you," Karin said figuring that had to be the best reason.

"His reasons don't matter since he's been allowed to get away with it. Believe me, I've tried," Dan groaned while rubbing his head where a headache was forming. "What can we possibly do now?" he asked starting to see that all the things he had been doing were becoming worthless. He graduated near the top of his class in college and showed so much promise in business. 'How could things have turned out this badly?'

"You always told me that you wanted to open your own company. Why don't you try that? It's not like he can fire you from your own business," Karin suggested as she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a hug from behind.

"As great as that sounds I simply don't have the resources for the type of company I want. It could take a long time to get them and that could hurt the family in the meantime and that's something I can't do," Dan replied but was happy nonetheless that his wife was trying to help him all she could.

"If it comes to that then I will get a job as well. I don't mind it if you can do what you've wanted to," Karin said as she finally let go of him and walked over so that she took the seat next to him. "By the way, we have important business this weekend," she said grabbing an envelope that was on the counter and handed it to her husband.

Dan took the envelope and opened it. A small frown crossed his face when he placed it down. "I see that it's finally time for that. I guess she couldn't put it off forever," Dan said running a hand through his hair.

* * *

"Damn it Van! Wait up!" Fiona said running after Van who was doing everything in his power to keep away. Now Fiona was hardly one to ever swear but Van was really starting to get on her nerves with this stupid game he had been playing. 

"No!" Van stubbornly yelled back to her as he turned a corner quickly and started to run hoping that he'd be able to lose her because he felt it would be very awkward to him is she caught him and forced him to tell her why he was acting that way.

"Why are you being like this Van? What did I do?" Fiona asked with her voice softening drastically as her speed slowly decreased until she came to a complete stop with her head facing towards the ground while her eyes were shadowed by her hair.

What Fiona said really made Van's heart hurt a lot. He didn't want her to think that it was all her fault. He just didn't want to ruin her relationship with her new boyfriend with his feelings. The special friendship that the two of them used to have couldn't work anymore since she had a boyfriend.

Slowly Van too came to a stop right after Fiona did. "You didn't do anything Fiona. I just don't want to cause trouble between you and your boyfriend," Van said with his back facing her. "I chose to do this myself so please don't blame yourself," Van continued to say only to suddenly feel a light pressure against his back.

Fiona pressed her head into his back while her hands grabbed a hold of his t-short. "So it's about that? Why exactly do things have to change between us just because I suddenly get a boyfriend? You're my best friend Van and I don't want to lose you just because of this," she quietly said just loud enough for Van to hear but no one else.

"Fiona, I always believed that we had a very special friendship. I was able to do these things with you that I just couldn't do with anyone else such as sleeping in the same bed. But those kinda things were things we could do only because we weren't attached to anyone else," Van said even though he hated the mere thought of it.

Even though Fiona hated to admit it, she knew that he was right. "I don't want things to change though Van. I…" Fiona started to say only for her to be suddenly pushed by a guy on a bike who happened to suddenly speed past the two of them.

Van turned around very quickly and grabbed a hold of Fiona in order to prevent her from falling. "Are you ok Fiona?" Van asked softly before starting to take notice of something. 'What is this?' he mentally asked himself while feeling something round, soft, and squishy in his hand.

At the same time that Van looked down so did Fiona only for both of them to suddenly turned bright red. It turned out that in catching Fiona, Van's hand caught her breast by mistake. Both of them just stood there staring at it for a few seconds. Then as if Van's hand had a mind of its own, it gave the breast a nice firm squeeze.

Fiona gasped in a mix of surprise and pleasure at Van's actions. 'W-what is this feeling?' she asked herself when her knees suddenly felt weak like they would've given out had Van not been holding her.

Van finally realized what he just did and quickly let go of Fiona. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he yelled turning bright red before he quickly turned in the direction of his house and once again started to run away to avoid having to talk about such an embarrassing position they were in.

Fiona didn't run after him. She was still a little shocked by the events that just took place. Her knees finally collapsed from under her and she kneeled down onto the pavement below her as her hand reached up and placed itself over her heart which happened to be pounding wilder than ever. 'My heart won't stop pounding. That was the first time anyone touched me in such a way and yet I really liked it.'

* * *

Van ran into his room and fell onto his bed. He then growled in frustration as he repeatedly hit the bed with his fist. 'Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' he mentally screamed before finally calming down with a sigh. 

Van rolled onto his side from his back and stared at his hand. It was the same hand that not all that long ago had accidentally grabbed Fiona's breast. 'I can still feel it. I always knew they were perfect. It felt great but now things are bound to get even worse between the two of us,' he thought with another growl.

There was a knock on the door and Van didn't do anything but say, "Come in." His back was turned towards the door but he heard it open and someone walked into the room. It was several moments before he rolled over and saw his mother standing there in front of him.

Karin looked down at her soon sadly. "Are you alright Van? I heard you come in and immediately rush to your room. I noticed looked sad about something. Care to talk about it?" she asked as she took a seat on the bed next to Van.

Van sighed as he turned over once again to face away from his mother. "I… don't want to talk about it," he said wishing his mom would just drop it and leave it alone. He really didn't want to talk about what just happened between him and Fiona.

"Well I think you should," Karin told her youngest child while placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you tell me what happened I might be able to help you," she said since she hated to see Van or Maria sad at all. She'd be willing to do anything if it would let her see them smile once again.

"I told you that I don't want to talk about it!" Van yelled but Karin wasn't affected in the least. Van sighed knowing she wasn't going to leave unless he told her. 'It wouldn't be the first time she did that,' he thought with another sigh. "I screwed up and now everything between me and Fiona is ruined!" he growled out before hitting the mattress once again.

"What happened between you and Fiona to make you feel this way? I know Fiona would never feel that way. I know if you talked to her you can work through it," she said but Van didn't respond. She sighed as she stood up and walked out of the room. 'Please don't let it end like this. Not when so much progress was being made,' she mentally pleaded as she went about getting things ready for dinner.

* * *

Van groaned as he woke up. He had fallen asleep at some point and he couldn't remember when. He looked out the window and saw that it was already dark outside. The alarm clock next to his bed showed that it was about nine at night right then. 

Groaning, once again, Van turned over and tried to just get back to sleep. He didn't see any point in getting up at that moment. However, when he closed his eyes a knocking came upon his door like earlier. "Go away! I told you I didn't want to talk about it," Van said figuring that it was his mom just trying to figure out more of what had happened between him and Fiona.

Unfortunately for Van his words didn't seem to mean a thing to the person on the other side of the door. "I said go away!" he yelled before the knocking finally stopped. Van sighed in relief before suddenly he heard the door open. "I said…" he said turning over to face the person only for his eyes to look into familiar crimson eyes.

Fiona stood there looking down at Van. After her last encounter with Van she debated with herself whether to talk to him or not before figuring that it would hurt too much if she completely lost the closest person to her heart.

"What… are you doing here Fiona?" he asked staring up at her in surprise. Then before he could say another word she crawled into his bed next to him and laid down right next to him like they used to do. "I don't think you should do that Fiona. What about your… boyfriend?" he asked hating the sound of it.

"I don't care. I don't want things to change between us Van. I hate how just because I'm going out with someone I've had to give up on a lot of our special friendship. I don't want things to change," she said as she closed her eyes and refused to leave.

"That's the thing about being in a relationship Fiona. You have to give up things to make it work. We can't keep doing what we've been doing if you want to keep your relationship with him. It will only make things harder for both of us," Van said sadly even though he too wanted to keep things the way they were with Fiona.

'Then maybe I don't want to stay in it!' Fiona thought but didn't want to say it for some reason. "Please Van! I don't want things to change so please don't let them!" she said as she grabbed a hold of him and refused to let go no matter what.

Van didn't know why but he just gave in when he saw her look so sad like that. Instead of saying anything, he just wrapped his arms around Fiona and pulled her into an embrace. 'I want the same things but I know this thing we have can never last as long as Seth is around,' he thought as he closed his eyes and soon they both fell asleep.

* * *

Despite how things happened that night, nothing had change over the next few days. The week passed, Saturday came, and Fiona was still with Seth. Right then she was even getting ready to go on a date with him. 

Fiona sighed as she looked at the clothes that she laid out for that night. 'Nothing feels right anymore. I no longer know what I should be doing,' she thought as she got changed earlier than was needed.

Then for a while she just sat on her bed and thought. Wondered just what she should be doing and what she wanted to do. 'I kinda wish that things could just go back to what they used to be. It's been so difficult for me each and every day since I started to go out with Seth. Is it really worth it for things to keep going on like this?' she mentally asked herself before her mom yelled out that Seth was here.

Fiona walked towards the front door where she saw Seth waiting for her. "Hey," she said giving him a kiss on the cheek. He did the same before pulling her out towards his car. He looked to be in a hurry because he had a reservation.

Another sigh escaped Fiona's mouth as she watched the scenery pass by them. Seth looked over at her for a second and frowned before a smile was placed on his face. "Is something the matter Fiona? This is a happy night so smile a little," he said taking another quick look at her before looking towards the road.

"I'm fine, I just… have a lot on my mind," Fiona said trying to give him a smile but it came out a bit more forced than she meant for it to. "I'll be just fine though," she said trying her best to cheer up.

Seth once again looked at her and frowned. "You know what, why don't we skip the reservation and just have a quick bite to eat. There's a place I want to show you anyways. We can just head straight there. I'm sure it will be enough to cheer you up," he suggested and waited for Fiona to reply.

Fiona felt relieved when he suggested it. She didn't like going to anyplace fancy. "I think that sounds great," she said giving her a much lighter smile as the two of them just stopped by a fast food restaurant and grabbed something.

After that Seth drove in a direction that Fiona recognized since she'd been there with Van a few times. "I'm sure you'll love it. I'm sure it will be very special," he said with a smile as he pulled in front of a large park that was in a really quiet park.

"It's very beautiful," Fiona said amazed with the place even though she'd been there once or twice before with Van. Then she felt Seth take her hand and start to gently drag her deeper and deeper into the beautiful area.

"I figured that you'd like it. I know a great place in here that's even better. Especially when the sun goes down," he said with a grin looking for the right area. "I'm sure that you'll be much happier with me after tonight," he said with a grin as he took her to a rather secluded area.

Fiona didn't know why but she sudden had a rather bad feeling. The area that they were at was surrounded almost completely by trees. The area above them was clear though showing off a beautiful view of the sky as the sun started to set on the horizon leaving the sky shining many beautiful colors.

Fiona took a seat on the grass and turned her head upwards and looked at the sky. "I'm glad you brought me here," she said as Seth took a seat next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She felt a bit uncomfortable but she didn't say a word about it to him.

"I'm really glad that you feel that way," he said looking at Fiona. "I wanted this night to be special for you," he said leaning in to kiss her. It was rougher than what he usually did but he didn't stop.

Fiona tried to get into it but found that she couldn't. Then suddenly she felt a hand on her thigh. Her eyes snapped wide open as she forcefully pulled away. "What are you doing?" she asked growing a bit nervous at the way he was looking at her. It was a look she'd seen several time and always felt uncomfortable with it.

"I just thought… what does it matter though? We've been going out for a month already. So I don't think it should be that much of a problem," he said looking at her with eyes that looked both confused and innocent. "Do you just not like me despite the fact that we've been going out all this time?" he asked looking a bit hurt.

"No, of course not. I like you. Why else would I agree to start dating you in the first place?" Fiona said though she didn't expect an answer. "It's just that you took me by surprise and…" she said but then felt his lips upon hers again as well as her being pulled on until she was lying flat on her back on the ground.

"I'm sorry I took you by surprise then. But I promise I'll be gentle with you," he said before his lips attacked her neck despite the way that Fiona was struggling to get out of his embrace. "Trust me, this will be great," he said as his hand ran up her sides in an intimate manner.

Fiona struggled even harder to escape from her grip. "No! Please stop!" she yelled as she got her arms free and pushed him off her with all her might. "It's not that you just took me by surprise. It's that I don't want to do it! I'm not ready for that kind of relationship!" she yelled at him as she backed away a few feet.

"So what? We like each other and we're going out. So why is it so wrong for us to be doing this? If you're not ready then when will you?" he asked growing frustrated at the way that Fiona was behaving.

"That's easy, I'll only do that when I'm married!" she yelled back at him and watched as a number of emotions passed over his face before he stopped with a look of annoyance. "I won't do it anytime before then," she finished hoping he would be different from the others and drop the subject.

"Oh come on!" Seth said rubbing his forehead where a headache was forming. "Do you honestly think people do that sort of thing anymore? Your mother told me about all those others guys. So I thought I'd give you some space and wait. But this is what I get? 'Oh no, it's never going to happen?'" he said in a high pitched voice as if trying to talk like her. I've waited for you so don't you think it deserve this?" he asked clearly annoyed as he attacked her lips once again.

"No!" Fiona yelled pushing him away with all her strength. She then stood up and walked a few more feet away feeling really hurt that he felt this way. She really thought he was different from all those other guys her mother set her up with but he was turning out to be exactly the same. The only difference was that he tried a different way to make her have sex with him.

"Fine then! Do what you want! I'm going back to the car!" he growled out as he turned and walked out of the area in the direction of the car while Fiona just waited around to pull herself together a bit.

Fiona waited a few minutes before she turned and walked in the direction he went. 'I can't take this anymore. I'm going to break up with him and then go home,' she thought as she took a deep breath to prepare herself for the confrontation that was about to occur.

However, when she got there she knew that the confrontation wouldn't occur. Her eyes widened and panic swept over her when she saw that his car was no longer there. "Oh no!" she said running close to the street to see if this was just some sort of joke or if he really just left her there. "How could he?!" she asked having no idea what to do since she had no money on her and that her home was too far away to walk to.

'No money, no phone, and no way hone. What am I going to do?' Fiona thought in a panic as she looked around for anything that could possibly help her. The sun was on the verge of completely setting right then and Fiona wondered just how worse it would become.

* * *

Van walked through a park that he'd become accustomed to going to every time that Fiona went on a date with Seth. He liked how peaceful it was despite the fact that it took some time to get to.

A breeze blew past but with it Van heard a slight noise. When he listened the noise even closer he could tell that it was the sound of crying. 'Is someone crying? It sounds like a woman as well,' he athought to himself as he looked around but didn't see anyone.

Listening even closer, Van feet found themselves walking in the direction of the source of the crying. He hated it when people cried even if it had nothing to do with himself. They finally came to a stop a few moments later in front of a tree he used to play in when he was younger. It was a bit out of the way so barely anyone came around there. Very few even knew about it so Van suddenly had a suspicion on who it was and that made him worry.

Unfortunately for Van his suspicions were confirmed when he saw that it was none other than Fiona sitting there. She had her knee pulled to her chest as she cried. "Hey Fiona, what are you doing here? Didn't you have a date?" asked Van looking at the woman he had come to love so much in the past few years.

Fiona jumped a little since she hadn't heard anyone approaching her but couldn't help but smile, despite the tears, when she saw that it was Van that was standing in front of her. "Oh hey Van," Fiona said quietly while wiping away the tears that were currently falling down her face. "I didn't hear you coming," she admitted while he took a seat right next to her.

"I see. So what's up? It doesn't sound like your date went very well considering that I just found you crying and don't try to hide it because I saw and heard you. So what happened?" asked Van with a worried voice.

Knowing that Van would end up hearing about it sooner or later, Fiona decided that she would tell him instead. She'd always felt so comfortable around Van so she figured that it would be good for her to tell him. "It's stupid but we came here as part of the date. The thing is that he wanted to do things with me that I'm not ready for. I told him no and he got angry and just left me here," Fiona said trembling slight but when she felt a warm hand on her shoulder she managed to calm down greatly.

"That bastard! That has got to be one of the lowest things I have ever heard of someone doing to a person. Don't worry about him Fiona. He was just being a very big asshole," Van said smiling warmly at Fiona to get her to calm down a bit. "You're probably tired, How about I take you home?" said Van as more of a statement rather then a question. He figured she had no other way home so he would've been more than happy to help her.

Van then tried to stand up but found that he couldn't when he suddenly felt Fiona's head fall upon his shoulder. He looked at her in surprise for a moment before a smile crossed his lips.

Fiona felt so content just sitting there with her head resting upon Van's shoulder. Her heart pounded deep in her chest as she leaned against the one that she had fallen in love with. She could date other people but she knew that no one would replace Van in her heart. She just didn't want to ruin things between them but forcing her feelings upon him when she wasn't sure how he felt.

Van's heart felt the same way as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her close to him. 'I really wish these kinds of things didn't have to keep happening to someone as great as you,' he thought looking at her lovingly before looking up at the stars in the now night sky above him.

Being so lost in his thoughts, Van didn't notice that Fiona was looking at him. When he turned to look at her he finally saw her and smiled at her as she quickly turned her head away but he'd already seen her looking at him. "Something on my face?" asked Van using his hand to wipe at an imaginary thing.

"No, I was just thinking about what a good friend you have been to me. You have always been there for me whenever I needed you and I thank you for that," Fiona said with a smile as Van looked away for a second. She leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Yet just as she was about to do that he turned back to look at her and their lips came in contact with one another.

Immediately the two of them pulled apart blushing as red as a tomato. Neither of them could find the words to say about the moment that that wanted but didn't mean to happen. 'Did that just happen? Did she mean to or did I just make a big mistake?' he asked himself while the blush only continued to grow. He looked at Fiona to see that she was just in the exact same state as he was.

'Oh god, what have I done?' Fiona asked herself as her hand came up and touched her lips. Just the thought of it made her start blushing even more if it was possible. 'It felt so good though. No, I can't think of something like that. What would Van think about it?' she asked herself looking at Van before looking away from him in embarrassment.

The two of them turned to look at each other's faces. Fiona was about to say something but she wasn't able to even open her mouth before Van came down on her with a kiss. Unlike the last one this one was completely on purpose and Fiona found herself easily getting into it.

The taste of her lips was beyond what Van imagined. It was sweet and addicting from the very first touch. 'It's a dream; it has to be a dream. Ah hell it's such a good dream that I don't want to wake up,' thought Van with a smile as he pulled her closer and kissed her more with everything he had decided to screw consequences and do what his heart had been longing to do.

The two of them stayed in that position for a while until the need to breath became too much for them to ignore. They each reluctantly pulled away and stared at one another with a deep blush adorning both of their faces.

Fiona seemed to be on a high after the intense kiss that the two of them just went through. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that she was afraid it was going to burst right out of her. "Van…" she murmured in a dazed voice.

"Fiona…" Van said as he brought a hand up and used it to gently caress her cheek. He noticed very quickly how she leaned into it like it was the most comfortable pillow. "Fiona, I was wondering for a while and now seems the best time to ask. Would you like to go out with me?" he asked figuring it was better to ask before her mother planned one of those disasters again.

Fiona's eyes widened in shock but on the inside there was no describing the happiness that she was going through. "You mean… like a date?" she asked with very hopefully eyes. She had to keep from jumping for joy when Van bashfully nodded his head. Instead, she kept silent. She didn't answer Van with words. Instead she leaned in and placed another sweet and gentle kiss upon his lips.

They stayed like that for several more minutes until they broke apart. "So… I guess I can take that as a yes," Van said with a small laugh as Fiona did as well before they kissed once more.

The two of them just stayed in that one spot for hours. They were content in their embrace as well as stealing the occasional kiss from one another. Neither could describe just how happy they were.


End file.
